Country Profile Afghanistan

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER | ACF INTERNATIONAL AFGHANISTAN

COUNTRY PROFILE

BASIC FACTS MODERN HISTORY

Location: South Asia Afghanistan gained independence from the British from the anti-Taliban alliance as well as from op- President: Hamid Karzai Empire in 1919. After a period of democracy, the posing factions within Afghanistan, leading to the government was overthrown in 1973 and 1978. collapse of Taliban rule by the end of 2001. Government: Republic In 1979, the Soviet Union backed the new com- Capital: Kabul munist regime with resources and financial support, sparking a Cold War era proxy between the In 2001, the United Nations-sponsored Bonn Official Languages: Afghan Conference established a process for political Persian or Dari and Pashto Soviet-backed Afghan government and the U.S.- backed opposition forces of mujahedin rebels reconstruction that included a new Afghanistan Official Currency: Afghani that would last the next 22 years. constitution, presidential elections in 2004 and Population: 29.1 million the installation of a National Assembly (a central lawmaking body) to govern Afghanistan. Hamid Climate: arid to semi-arid; In 1989, the Soviet Union withdrew its forces Karzai was declared the first democratically- cold winters, hot summers from Afghanistan leaving Mohammad Najibullah elected president of Afghanistan in 2004, and the Life Expectancy: 44.65 and a Soviet-supported government in place in National Assembly was put in place in December years Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Fighting continued of 2005. between Najibullah supporters and mujahedin Literacy Rate (age 15 and rebel factions. over): 28.1% Even though the new constitution was an im- Area: 652,230 km² portant step towards political stability, regional When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, Najibullah’s conflicts and a continued Taliban presence in the National Flag: government was severely weakened. In 1994, the country remain serious challenges for the Afghan- government in Kabul was overthrown, and for the istan government. next two years Afghanistan was ungoverned until the Taliban, a Pakistani-sponsored group, took over in 1996. Seeking to replace anarchy with or- der and rid the country of regional warlords, the Taliban practiced Sharia law and sought to rule GEOGRAPHY & CLIMATE the country based on a strict religious code. Afghanistan is a land-locked country in South Until late 2001, the Taliban ruled 90% of Afghani- Asia bordered by Pakistan to the east, Iran to the stan, alothough they were not recognized as the west, and Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajiki- stan to the north. With an area slightly smaller legitimate government of Afghanistan by the in- than that of Texas, Afghanistan has an arid to ternational community. Following the September semi-arid climate with cold winters and hot sum- 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., an anti- mers. The Hindu Kush Mountains separate north- Taliban alliance formed between the U.S., Britain ern Afghanistan from the rest of the country. and groups from northern Afghanistan. Accused of harboring terrorists including Osama bin Laden, the Taliban government met strong resistance

Photos clockwise from top left: ACF-AFGHANISTAN, courtesy of Jean Lapegue, 2006; Isabelle Eshragei, 2004, CIA Factbook.

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HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT

Due to decades of conflict, conditions in Afghanistan are dire for many people, with more than five million people dependent on daily humanitarian aid and some four million Afghans living as refugees in Pakistan and Iran. An estimated 60% of Afghani children under the age of five are malnourished, while 32% of the population have no access to clean water. With an illiteracy rate of 72%, the majority of the population lives precariously on less than one dollar per day. The post-conflict reconstruction process has been slow and the political system and infrastructure remain unstable. In recent years, there have been increases in armed conflict and political instability, with frequent attempts by the Taliban to regain control in Afghanistan. Seven years of successive drought and other environmental disasters have left Afghanistan with inadequate natural resources. In southern Afghanistan, 80% of the “kareze” - underwater aqueducts used for irrigation - have dried up. With changing climate patterns the land has become drier and less fertile, making it more dif- ficult for farmers to raise livestock and cultivate crops. Many farmers are being driven to cultivate poppy as a cash crop, which has proven strong against drought, but offers no nutritional value. Given that 80% of the country’s 29.1 million people live in rural areas dependant on agriculture, the country’s nutritional challenges are being further compromised as drought continues to devastate crops. Earthquakes, avalanches and floods are also common environmental disasters inAfghanistan, destroying Photos: ACF-AFGHANISTAN, courtesy infrastructure and taking lives each year. Political instability and natural disasters continue to plague of Isabelle Eshragei, 2004; Jean Afghanistan, leaving the humanitarian condition unstable. Lapegue, 2006; Google Maps. Source: IRIN News

ACTION AGAINST HUNGER IN AFGHANISTAN

Founded in 1979, ACTION AGAINST HUNGER | ACF INTERNATIONAL’s first humanitarian programs were launched in response to the humanitarian emergency unfloding in Afghanistan as civilians fled the fighting between the Soviet-backed government and opposition rebel groups. Security concerns would later lead ACF to remove its teams from Afghanistan, but programs resumed in 1995 and ACF has been active in the country since.

Nutrition FURTHER ACTIVITIES ACF supports Afghanistan’s Ministry of Health by drafting national • Have students research current events in Afghanistan and pres- guidelines on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malnutri- ent their findings to the class. tion, while training government staff and community health vol- unteers. Patients in our nutrition programs recieve psychological • Have students research and present a “day-in-the-life” of an support and education on basic nutrition and food diversity. Afghan teenager: how would their day begin, what would they eat, how would they prepare it, what would they do, what are Food Security & Livelihoods their dreams? ACF conducts a range of activities to stimulate household econo- • Have students design a program for helping vulnerable Afghan mies by fosdtering certain livelihoods like tailoring, small shops families: What would it look like? What components (water, food, and other income-generating activities. ACF distributes seeds and health) would it have? What problems would it try to solve? How fertilizers to bolster agricultural activity and organizes food-for- would it be carried out? work activities to build needed infrastructure. Steps to follow: Water, Sanitation & Hygiene 1) Set-up an operational budget ACF extends water and sanitation improvements by constructing 2) Print out “What Money Can Buy” from ACF’s Student Center tap stands and water distribution points, latrines and public toi- 3) Break students into groups and distribute Afghanistan Country lets, and promotes improved hygiene practices. To improve access Profile and “What Money Can Buy” to drinking water, ACF constructs and rehabilitates water networks to bring clean water to communities and health clinics, and estab- 4) Explain assignment and give students a set amount of time to lishes community-based water committees to manage water points come up with a program. and infrastructure for the future. 5) Have students present the programs to the class and discuss reasoning behind money allotment.