When Shahnaz went into labor, her husband Abdul called a taxi to take them to the only medical facility accessible to them.
She was in a lot pain, he says.
A 20-minute drive away, the clinic was in Shesh Pol village in Afghanistan's north-eastern Badakhshan province. It was where their two older children were born.
Abdul sat next to Shahnaz comforting her as they drove over gravel tracks to reach help.
But when we reached the clinic, we saw that it was closed. I didn't know it had shut down, he said, his face crumpling with agony.
Warning: Readers may find some details in this article distressing.
The clinic in Shesh Pol is one of more than 400 medical facilities that closed down in Afghanistan after the Trump administration cut nearly all US aid to the country earlier this year. This drastic move followed the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The clinic, a single-storey structure with peeling walls, had served as a critical lifeline, supporting maternal health. It had a trained midwife, assisted around 25-30 deliveries every month, and housed a stock of medicines and injections.
With other medical facilities being too far and considering the risks of travel, Abdul and Shahnaz returned home out of desperation. This led to a tragic moment: Shahnaz delivered their baby girl in the car, but died shortly after, suffering from severe bleeding. Their newborn also died just hours later.
We could've been saved if the clinic was open, Abdul lamented, underscoring the human cost of political decisions, which have exacerbated an already dire healthcare crisis in Afghanistan.
