West Kabul © Brandy Bauer

Desecration of Buddhas, Afghanistan © Beth Bolitho

Food Security
Health
Conflict
Politics
Economy
Human Rights

Poverty in Afghanistan

As one of the least developed countries on earth, Afghanistan faces many challenges in attaining its targets for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These include significant poverty, food insecurity and health risks, and what was once called "the worst education system in the world". In recognition of its special situation, the target date for the MDGs in Afghanistan has been put back from 2015 to 2020.

Charikar High School (2003), Afghanistan © Beth Bolitho

Progress is under way in some areas of human development. Electronic media and traveling theatres are being used increasingly to deliver vital health and hygiene messages. School enrolment has increased from one to six million since 2001, though a combination of poorly qualified teachers, distance and security deter many children, especially girls and those in rural areas, from attending.

Likewise, the goal of promoting gender equality and women's empowerment has been an important focus of attention. Recent years have witnessed the creation of a new Ministry of Women's Affairs, a Constitution that promotes non-discrimination, and a legislative assembly with 25% of the seats set aside for women. An interim National Action Plan for Women of Afghanistan was launched in spring 2006 to promote women's leadership and equality. Yet forced marriages, domestic violence and lack of social and political participation continue to hinder progress of women's issues.

children in Bamyan, Afghanistan © Beth Bolitho

A concentrated effort to reduce disparities across different social groups and a focus beyond the major cities - coupled with continued international donor commitment - will be critical to the success of meeting the country's development goals. Progress on the MDGs is being fed into the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) (also known as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper). The final ANDS was completed and approved by President Karzai in April 2008 and presented to the international community at the Paris donor conference in June.

Food Security in Afghanistan

After a good harvest in 2007 provided about 90% of the country's needs in its staple crop of wheat, there has been an alarming deterioration in food security in Afghanistan. Drought in the north combined with widespread poverty in rural areas has led to a significant shortfall for 2008. Imported wheat is expensive and difficult to obtain from Pakistan, the normal source for Afghanistan, so that the price of wheat has doubled in the space of 12 months. With average households now spending 75% of their income on food, there is real concern for the poorest families.

The UN issued an appeal for food-related aid in January 2008 to assist 2.6 million vulnerable people but has rapidly revised the number in need to 4.5 million, upping the appeal to $400 million in July. For a programme on this scale, the logistics of timely delivery of supplies to the beneficiaries will inevitably come under pressure.

Aid agencies such as Oxfam point to the tiny proportion of assistance directed towards agriculture and rural development, perhaps as little as $300 million out of a total of $15 billion since 2001. Reconstruction of the crumbling irrigation system, for example, would go a long way to restoring livelihoods and food security.
Health in Afghanistan

ACTED-UNHCR project, Shamali Plain © Beth Bolitho

Afghanistan is plagued with some of the worst health statistics on the planet, including low life expectancy, high maternal mortality and child mortality rates. Contributing to these statistics is exceptionally poor access to safe water and sanitation together with the ongoing presence of preventable diseases that lead to mortality, including tuberculosis, malaria and diarrhoeal illnesses.

However, concerted effort on the part of humanitarian aid organizations, UN agencies and the Afghan government has led to marked improvement in some of these areas. A recent evaluation showed a significant decrease in infant mortality, while roughly 80% of Afghans now have access to the basic package of primary health services. Emphasis on polio eradication campaigns, midwifery training, and establishing health care in remote areas contribute to slow gains being made in improving the health of Afghanistan's population.
Conflict in Afghanistan

Remnants of war, Afghanistan © Beth Bolitho

More than two decades of conflict have severely hindered Afghanistan's progress toward meeting development goals. A Communist coup in 1978 and Soviet invasion one year later ushered in years of fighting that continued after the Soviets pulled out in 1989. Guerrilla factions carried on the violent, internal conflict throughout the early 1990s. In 1994, a group of Islamic fundamentalists, the Taliban, emerged as a political force and within two years controlled most of the country. Their strict interpretation of the Koran led to significant restrictions on basic freedoms and resulted in violent clashes with anti-Taliban groups.

© United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

The US-led Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan (CFC-A, formerly called Coalition Forces) ousted the Taliban in late 2001, and began to wage an ongoing military campaign to weed out remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. CFC-A initially was assisted by the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a UN-authorised multinational force responsible for maintaining security in and around Kabul, and supporting the government's security sector reform process. During 2006, CFC-A and NATO troops gradually merged operations, and by October NATO assumed responsibility for security throughout the country with resources of over 50,000 troops including Afghan national forces. A separate US force of over 10,000 troops under the banner Operation Enduring Freedom continues to seach for al-Qaeda leaders.

While the Afghan government has attempted to disarm and demobilise ex-combatants and illegal militias for several years, an anti-government insurgency continues to threaten security in the country. The first half of 2008 has seen some of the worst violence since the fall of the Taliban government, with an increasing number of both military and civilian casualties. NATO's limited capacity to provide fighting troops has exposed tensions between member governments.

One of the troubling consequences of so much fighting is the large presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Afghanistan is considered one of the most heavily mined countries in the world with 4 million of the population living in areas at risk. 2007 witnessed a continued increase in the number of persons killed by mines or UXO. The government has added de-mining as a 9th MDG priority.

Politics in Afghanistan

A new Constitution, ratified in January 2004, establishes Afghanistan as an Islamic Republic governed by a President and a bicameral legislature. The President serves for a five-year term, with a two-term limit. The National Assembly is comprised of a popularly elected Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) and a Meshrano Jirga (House of Elders), whose members are appointed in equal parts by Provincial Councils, District Councils (local units of government) and the President.

Hamid Karzai © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

The country's first presidential elections were held in October 2004, with Hamid Karzai - who served as the provisional head of state following the ousting of the Taliban - winning with roughly 55% of the votes. While the first round of elections was largely hailed as a success, critics alleged a lack of transparency and a lower level of observation and monitoring than offered to elections in other recent post-conflict societies. Elections for the Wolesi Jirga and Provincial Councils were held in September 2005. Warlords, local commanders, and conservative religious leaders won many places in the National Assembly whilst women also performed strongly, in spite of the quotas to ensure their representation. Negative perceptions of political and judicial leaders abound, with Karzai himself criticising many officials for corruption. A presidential election is due in 2009.

Radio thrives in Afghanistan © David Trilling / Internews Network

Afghanistan's civil society burgeoned significantly after the fall of the Taliban, with growth noted in media outlets, NGOs and cultural associations. However, the Afghan media has become an increasing target for censorship and violence. Several journalists have been killed, assaulted or increasingly obstructed from carrying out their work, and a new media bill that would permit greater government oversight of private and state-run media has passed through Parliament, but remains unsigned by the President.
The Economy in Afghanistan

Women & children, Afghanistan © Brandy Bauer

$15 billion has been spent on reconstruction in Afghanistan since 2001 and questions are increasingly asked as to whether there is sufficient return on the investment. In addition to concern over the failure to reduce corruption and violence, much criticism has arisen around the extent to which aid monies are mishandled and have had little effect in improving the country's development. There is no shortage of evidence of dysfunctional relationships between an impossible melting pot of donor governments, development agencies, military, private contractors and the Afghan authorities.

Afghan opium farmers © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

Disagreement between US and EU officials over strategies for eradication of opium is one prominent example. The consequent proliferation of the illicit opium economy, mostly in areas beyond government control and the main source of funding of the Taliban, has led to charges that Afghanistan is disintegrating into a "narco-state". Latest figures from the UN estimate that Afghan opium generated $4 billion income in 2007, 93% of the world's supply and equivalent to over half of the official economy.

Nevertheless, the international community continues to pledge significant funding both for reconstruction and to cover most of the cost of Afghan public services. The 80 countries attending the latest Afghanistan donor conference held in Paris in June 2008 pledged approximately $22 billion over the next five years – a significant shortfall from the $50 billion requested by the Afghan government to implement the ANDS.

Further strain on the economy stems from the large numbers of Afghan refugees returning from neighbouring Pakistan and Iran; since 2002 voluntary repatriation has seen 5 million return from these two countries alone with a further 3 million registered refugees encouraged to do likewise. As these returnees settle in Afghanistan's major cities, they place added burdens on already saturated labour markets and housing and public services. Threats by both Iran and Pakistan to expel unregistered Afghans during 2008 may unsettle the task of reintegration.
Human Rights in Afghanistan

The conflict years imposed a heavy toll on the rights of Afghan citizens. Many Afghans were victims of political violence and have terrible memories of bombings, murder, torture and repression. More disturbing is that a large number of former war criminals have gone unpunished and now occupy high-level government posts.

In early 2007 Karzai signed a Parliamentary bill that gives amnesty from state prosecution to perpetrators of past war crimes. Actions may be brought by individuals but they will carry the burden of proof to receive any compensation. International and national groups have argued that the bill reinforces the culture of impunity and, combined with the increasing limitations placed on press freedom, has contributed to a deterioration in the human rights situation in Afghanistan over the past year. Private militias continue to dominate many regions outside Kabul, with warlords subjecting local citizens to extortion, land grabbing and political repression.

Nevertheless, one institution that is attempting to promote justice for human rights abuses is the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), established in 2002 and recognized by the 2004 Constitution. With more than 300 staff operating in 11 offices, the AIHRC monitors, protects and promotes human rights in Afghanistan and assists with legal representation in cases of rights violations.



Brandy Bauer worked for the Kabul-based Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit for roughly three years between 2004 and 2006. She is currently based in Copenhagen, Denmark, managing publications and advocacy for the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.

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