Afghanistan, Jan. 7 -- At the home of a Pakistani rickshaw driver, a knock broke the silence of a cold November night, followed by a desperate plea: "My wife is giving birth. Could you take her to the hospital? If we leave our home, the police will detain us. Please help us."

On the other side of the door stood an Afghan refugee couple, the wife in labor. Due to Pakistan's widespread deportations of Afghans, the couple feared leaving their home, even for urgent medical care. The family faced the unimaginable: giving birth without support, in isolation, and under extreme stress.

Even though the family had no money, the driver agreed to rush the woman to the hospital.

"As a human being, I felt their pain," he told a Doctors Without Borde...