Afghanistan

POVERTY IN the south Asian country of Afghanistan has historically been affected by political upheaval and civil unrest. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, remaining in power until anticommunists rebelled in 1989. In the ensuing fight for power, extremists known as the Taliban led the fight to unite the country by promoting terrorism and an anti-Western [Page 7]mentality. When terrorists with connections to the Tal-iban and its leader Osama bin Laden attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, American forces invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban. Democratic elections were held for the first time in 2004.

The new government faces a daunting task because Afghani society has long been characterized by inequality and a severe lack of essential social services for the poorest segment of the population. While the country continues to face economic woes, international aid of over $2 billion has mitigated the problem. Nevertheless, the government continues to deal with a shortage of food, jobs, housing, electricity, and access to adequate sanitation. Though not included in the rankings, based on quality-of-life indicators, Afghanistan would rank near the bottom on the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index.

The low-income economy of Afghanistan is heavily dominated by agriculture (80 percent), and approximately 53 percent live below the national poverty line. Some 70 percent of the population are undernourished. Only 12 percent of Afghanis have access to adequate sanitation. The health and well-being of the Afghani people is also threatened by a lack of potable water and basic access to healthcare. Health coverage is inconsistent, and many Afghanis lack access to health information and facilities. Approximately 40 percent of medical facilities have no females on staff, and the government has launched a program to train midwives to address this problem.

The spread of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria also poses significant risks to Afghanis, and health officials have become concerned about the increasing rate of HIV/AIDS, which is related to the expanding use of drugs. Epidemics of cholera, Congo-Crimea hemorrhagic fever, measles, meningitis, and scurvy have also occurred. With a median age of 17.57 years and a life expectancy of 42 years, only 2.4 percent of Afghani people are over 65 years of age. The World Health Organization estimates that owing to poor health Afghani men lose 6.6 years of life and Afghani women lose 7.7 years of life.

Education is traditionally viewed as a means of combating poverty. However, only 51 percent of Afghani males over the age of 15 are able to read and write. Comparably, only 21 percent of females over the age of 15 are literate. According to World Bank statistics, in 2000, 85 percent of Afghani males and 74 percent of Afghani females attended primary schools. Of those who attended primary schools, 79 percent of males and 68 percent of females completed this educational level. Only two percent of the population receive education beyond the primary level.

Women and children are disproportionately victimized by poverty. Despite rampant poverty, the fertility rate for Afghani women is 6.9 births per woman. According to World Bank estimates of 2003, only 10 percent of Afghani women between the ages of 15 and 49 use contraceptives of any sort. The World Health Organization reports that in 2003, the probability of dying for Afghani children under the age of 5 was 258 for males and 257 for females out of every 1,000 live births. At 168 deaths per 1,000 live births, the Afghani infant mortality rate is unacceptably high, as is the 1,900 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births.

...