Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries having endured decades of war, insecurity and drought. Life expectancy is at least 20 years lower than all of its neighbouring countries and the situation for women and children is grim, with mortality rates amongst the worst in the world. A war is currently being waged in the south to eradicate the opium trade and control the Taliban. Instability, poverty and crime restrict the ability of the government and NGOs to respond to the peoples needs.


Map of Afghanistan
Map of Afghanistan

HEA Afghanistan Headers

Background   |   Main Issues   |   What World Vision is doing   |   Stories   |  Links   |   Gallery


Background & facts & figures

 

 

Background

After 25 years of war, internal conflict, and several years of drought, it is little wonder that the people of Afghanistan are struggling to rebuild their country.  With amongst the highest under-five and maternal mortality rates in the world and very low levels of rural education, especially among girls, Afghanistan is a country in need of support from the international community. The government of Afghanistan, only elected in September 2005, is fairly new and still fragile. It has an enormous amount of urgent tasks to tackle. Working together with the international community, it is striving to develop more sustainable systems of education and health, while ensuring better food security and improved water and sanitation.

Increasingly, international aid for Afghanistan is being channelled into direct budgetary support for the Afghan government, rather than through Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). There is a concern that because of this focus, rural areas will be forgotten, especially those areas that do not grow poppies, the raw material for heroin, of which Afghanistan is the world's largest producer. Most international donors are now focusing their efforts on Poppy eradication and support to the national government, rather than the humanitarian aid that is desperately needed. A war is currently being waged in the south to eradicate both the opium trade and control the Taliban rebels. Instability, poverty and crime contribute to a poor security environment in much of the country, restricting the ability of the government and NGOs to respond to development needs. There is also a need to support rural provinces and districts not involved in the Poppy trade. These areas historically do not benefit from the increased income that Poppy cultivation brings, and they often experience food supply issues.

After decades of war, many of the country's population are affected with food security issues, and a lack of access to basic services - safe water, sanitation, health care and education. Life expectancy in Afghanistan is at least 20 years lower than in all of its neighbouring countries. Women and children are the most vulnerable, with many of the worst affected living in remote rural areas. The literacy rate in Afghanistan is one of the lowest among developing countries. When it comes to education, it is girls who are most affected by the lack of school opportunities provided by the state. Boys are generally receiving priority access to schooling, leaving the millions of girls outside the formal school system.

World Vision works with communities in the Western Region to ensure that they are not forgotten, and actively seek greater international support for the whole of Afghanistan.

 

History

Afghanistan's crossroads position in Central Asia has subjected it to constant invasion and conquest throughout its history...

LINK: click here to read a PDF on the history of Afghanistan (this link will open in a new window or tab) The history of Afghanistan

 

 

Facts and figures

 

  • 52% of all children under the age of five suffer from stunted growth


  • 41% of the rural population and 13 % of the urban population does not have access to proper sanitation


  • Afghanistan has the highest proportion of school-age (7-12) children in the world (1 in 5 Afghans is a school-age child)


  • According to the education ministry, at least a million girls of school age are not enrolled, 35% of the total population of girls


  • 57% of the population is under 18 years old


  • Afghanistan has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the world (after Sierra Leone and Angola) at 1600-2200 deaths per 100,000  

 

  • Average life expectancy in Afghanistan is 43 years old - 20 years less than any other Asian country

 

  • Female literacy in Afghanistan is the lowest in the world, somewhere between 9% and 18%


  • UNICEF estimates that in 2006, nearly 900 children under five died every day in Afghanistan


  • Between 2001 and 2006 the number of children enrolled in schools rose from 1 million to 6 million


  • At Spin Boldak border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan all children under the age of five, about 800 children a day, are immunized against polio by an Afghan team on one side working in tandem with a Pakistani team on the other.

 

Sources: UNICEF Afghanistan Child Alert 2007 and Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals Report 2005

Note: It is widely recognised that there is a problematic lack of data in Afghanistan that hampers the ability to provide comprehensive economic and social statistics