The United Nations has warned in a new report that more than one million women and girls in Afghanistan have lost access to essential humanitarian services over the past 18 months due to a sharp decline in international funding.

According to the report, funding cuts have forced many women-focused support centers—including those providing mental health services, legal assistance, healthcare, and protection for survivors of gender-based violence—to scale back their operations or shut down entirely. The situation has had particularly severe consequences for female-headed households, internally displaced women, and girls who have been denied access to education.

The United Nations stressed that if the current trend continues, it could lead to increased poverty, forced marriages, gender-based violence, and further deprivation of women and girls from essential services. The organization also warned that many local organizations working to support women are on the verge of closure and will be unable to continue operating without urgent financial assistance.

The UN has called on donor countries and the international community to increase financial support for humanitarian programs in Afghanistan and ensure that women and girls continue to have access to life-saving and essential services.