Al Jazeera examines maternal mortality in Afghanistan, which “remains one of the worst places to be a mother,” 10 years after the beginning of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and “[d]espite billions of dollars in aid and considerable progress.” In an accompanying video, the news service reports, “One in five children born in Afghanistan dies by the age of five, and the statistics for mothers aren’t good either.”  

“Every 30 minutes a woman dies in Afghanistan from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth,” Suraya Dalil, acting Afghan health minister, says in the video. According to Al Jazeera, “That’s because most Afghan women give birth at home,” and “the 25 percent of mothers who do have health care have to overcome considerable obstacles just to get access to it,” including cultural barriers, harsh terrain, long distances, security problems and the cost of transportation (10/25).