A key UN health agency warns that Washington's aid cut could see 1,200 more women die from pregnancy and birth-linked causes in Afghanistan through 2028. "Obviously, we're pretty concerned about that substantial loss in funding," Pio Smith, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) regional director for Asia and the Pacific, tells reporters, pointing to Afghanistan, where "between 2025 and 2028, we estimate that the absence of US support will result in 1,200 additional maternal deaths and 109,000 additional unintended pregnancies." SOUNDBITE