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Afghanistan Flag of Afghanistan

Last reviewed: 3 November 2008

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Area: 251,740 square miles (652,000 sq km)
Population: estimated to be 28.7 million (UN) with an estimated total of 2 million refugees in Pakistan and 800,000 in Iran (UNHCR)
Capital City: Kabul, population estimated to be 4 million (Deputy Mayor of Kabul December 2002). Other main cities are Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar-e Sharif.
People: The population comprises numerous ethnic groups, the major ones being Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Chahar Aimaks and Turkmen.
Language: Dari (related to Farsi) and Pashto
Religion: Islam, 84% of whom are Sunni Muslim
Currency: The Afghani
Government:The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Head of State: Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
Vice Presidents: Abdul Karim Khalili, Ahmed Zia Massoud
Foreign Minister: Dr Rangin Dadfar-Spanta
Defence Minister: Gen Abdul Rahim Wardak
Interior Minister: Hanif Atmar
Finance Minister: Dr Anwar-ul Haq Ahadi
Counter-Narcotics Minister: Lt General Khodaidad  

HEALTH

The health infrastructure in Afghanistan damaged or destroyed by years of conflict, is gradually being re-established by the Afghan Government with the help of the international community. The health services inherited at the end of 2001 were limited in capacity and coverage, and while the Ministry of Health has shown leadership the health status of the Afghan people is still among the worst in the world. The majority of the population lacks access to safe drinking water and sanitary facilities. Disease, malnutrition and poverty are rife and an estimated 6.5 million people remain dependant on food aid.

  • average life expectancy is 43.1 years (UNDP, 2005)
  • 13.5% of babies dies during or shortly after birth (UNDP, 2007)
  • 26% of children die before reaching the age of 5 (UNDP, 2007)
  • Maternal mortality rate: 1600 per 100000 live births (UNDP, 2007)
  • More than three million Afghans benefited from rural water supply and sanitation activities in the country. 10119 water points, 66 networks and 1713 water reservoirs have been constructed.
  • 32.5% of the rural population has access to safe drinking water (UNAMA 2008)

The World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development and the European Community are helping the Afghan Ministry of Health, through NGOs, to provide a basic healthcare service to the entire population. The package consists of services for maternal and newborn health; child health and immunisation; nutrition; communicable disease; mental health; disability; and the supply of essential drugs. The Ministry of Health has established a Child and Adolescent Health Department and a Department of Women and Reproductive Health to tackle high infant and maternal mortality rates.

  • 83% of the population now has access to medical facilities, compared to 9% in 2004 (NATO, June 2007)
  • 76% of children under the age of five have been immunised against childhood diseases (NATO, June 2007)
  • More than 4000 medical facilities opened since 2004 (NATO, June 2007)

Immunisation is having a real impact. In March 2006, a Ministry of Public Health, UNICEF and World Bank nationwide campaign was launched to immunise 7 million children, in all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, against polio. Since 2002 UN agencies have administered 16 million vaccinations against measles, saving an estimated 35,000 lives. Cholera and diarrhoeal diseases are being tackled through health education, water chlorination and the construction of wells throughout the country.

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