International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics

Unicef has called for action to be taken to address ongoing maternal and newborn health issues in Afghanistan.

According to figures from the country's central statistics body, the children of women with little or no education are more likely to die than those born to better educated females.

However, the data showed that progress on issues such as improving literacy rates among women has been limited in the last few years.

Indeed, Unicef stated that while steps forward have been made on a national scale, there are "major disparities" when it comes to education provision on a regional level.

Peter Crowley, the group's Afghanistan representative, commented: "Much more needs to be done to support the health and wellbeing of Afghan women and children."

He believes a close look at the statistics could enable outside intervention to be planned and targeted more effectively.

This comes after Unicef condemned an attack on Department of Education staff members in Paktika province last month, which left seven people injured and five dead.

Posted by Martine Ward