LOST CHANCES ______________________ THE CHANGING SITUATION OF CHILDREN IN AFGHANISTAN, 1990-2000 Picture 1: Disabled Children/Sarshahi Camp, Jalalabad/UNHCR/J. Fakhouri/11.1994 Global Movement for Children Afghanistan Working Group June, 2001 This document was prepared by Shon Campbell, who was contracted by UNICEF Afghanistan. She prepared the draft document and extensive consultations were organized to finalized the text. This document would not have been possible without the cooperation and assistance of the many people working in the Afghan context who kindly and unhesitatingly gave their time, advice, copies of relevant documentation and suggestions during this two-month project. Their dedication and commitment to developing effective and innovative approaches in an extremely difficult context, and often under trying and discouraging circumstances, is both admirable and commendable. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND……………………………………………… 1. THE LAND….………………………………………………………… 2. THE PEOPLE.………………………………………………………… 3. THE ECONOMY……………………………………………………… 4. HISTORY AND SOCIAL SERVICES………………………………. a) Prior to 1978………………………………………………………… b) Revolution to Rebellion, 1978-9……………………………………. c) The First Decade of War……………………………………………. 5. THE LAST DECADE - 1990 to 2000…………………………………. a) The Mujahideen and the fight for Kabul…..………………………… b) Emergence of the Taliban …………………………………………… c) The changing face of the conflict..…………………………………... 6. AFGHANISTAN, THE CRC AND THE WORLD SUMMIT..…….. CHAPTER 2: AFGHANISTAN’S CHILDREN……………………… Part 1: Threats to Children’s Survival………………………………………….. 1. HEALTH STATUS.……………………………………………………. a) Reproductive Health Care and Family Planning Services……….…... b) Risks of Maternal Mortality……….…..……………………………... c) Risks before birth….…….………….………………………………... d) Issues at Birth……..….…………….………………………………… e) Problems of Early-Childhood……...…………………………………. f) Growing Up and Adolescence……...………………………………… g) Health Care - Issues of Implementation…….………………………… 2. FOOD SECURITY…..………………………………………………….. 3. WATER, SANITATION AND SHELTER………...………………….. a) Water………………………………………………………………….. b) Sanitation…..…..……………………………………………………… c) Shelter…………..………………………………………………….…. 4. MINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDINANCE (UXO)……...………….. Part 2: Threats to Children’s Protection..………………………………………. 1. VULNERABLE GROUPS…...….……………………………………… a) Pre-Teen and Adolescent Girls…….………………………………… b) Pre-teen and Adolescent Boys……..…………………………………. c) Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence…………………………… d) Children directly affected by Armed Conflict………………………… e) Orphans and Unaccompanied Children…..…………………………… 2. PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE CHILDREN ………………..…… a) Working Children…..………………………………………………… b) Children with Disabilities…..………………………………………… c) Children in Detention…….…………………………………………… Part 3: Children’s Development…….…………………………………………… 1. EDUCATION………..………………………………………………… a) Early Childhood Development and Education……………………… b) Basic and Primary Education……………………………………….. c) Post Primary Education….…………………………………………. d) Vocational Training and Skill Development…..…………………… 2. RECREATION, CULTURE AND IDENTITY……………………… a) Recreation…………………………………………………………… b) Cultural Heritage and Identity……..………………………………… c) Information and Media….…………………………………………… CHAPTER 3: CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION AND PROGRAMMING… 1. CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION……………………………………… 2. ISSUES OF PROGRAMMING AND CHILDREN…………………… ANNEXES: ANNEX 1: Indicators and Sources………………………………………………… ANNEX 2: List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………… ANNEX 3: Bibliography……..……………………………………………………… “Do not differentiate between me and my brother as we are both children and have the same rights.” INTRODUCTION Afghan Girl Child In the largest gathering of world leaders in history, the World Summit for Children assembled by the United Nations in 1990 adopted a Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and a Plan of Action for implementing this declaration through the 1990's. This plan of action comprised goals that, within the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the UN in 1989, were considered achievable by the year 2000. In committing to pursue these goals, leaders agreed to be guided by the principle of a "first call for children" whereby essential needs of children would be given high priority in the allocation of resources at national and international as well as at family levels at all times. This situation analysis has been undertaken in preparation for the United Nations' General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) in late 2001 to review progress made during the decade to improve the well-being of children. As such it concentrates on the changing situation for Afghan children over the past 10 years based on available documentation and interviews with Afghans and assistance providers. Lessons learned which came to light through this process have been included, along with recommendations for future directions which, it was felt, would make a difference for Afghan children. Constraints around availability of data are inherent in the Afghan context. The diversity that characterizes Afghanistan, its population and geography, along with ongoing conflict and the collapse or fragmentation of national institutions for data collection have rendered the task of finding reliable statistics impossible. Key indicators continue to be based on projections from population estimates collected through a census prior to the onset of war. With millions of Afghans still in exile in neighbouring countries, an unknown number further abroad and massive displacement within the country itself, it has been difficult to find data even in the current situation that can be usefully compared to that of a decade ago. As a result, reporting on the End of Decade Goals and Indicators is clearly limited and data should been seen as indicative only. Nevertheless, much can be learned from examining the trends in the changing situation over this period to reflect the changes and achievements for Afghan children, and it is on these trends that this report focuses. This analysis was originally expected to concentrate only on children in Afghanistan. However, the sheer size of the Afghan population in exile in neighbouring Pakistan and Iran, as well as the permeability of the borders mean that refugees' experiences and priorities remain inextricably linked with the situation of those who have remained. Thus information is included on the refugee situation where this was available and found to be relevant to the situation of children in Afghanistan. This analysis draws extensively on the last published Situation Analysis of Women and Children, undertaken by UNICEF in 1992. LOST CHANCES; page 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This analysis, undertaken in preparation for the United Nations' General Assembly Special Session scheduled for late 2001, reviews the changing situation of children in Afghanistan over the last decade. Research was conducted through available documentation and interviews with assistance providers working in the Afghan context. Lessons learned during the past ten years are highlighted along with recommendations for action that would make a difference for Afghan children in the coming years. While concentrating primarily on children in Afghanistan, information has been included on the situation of Afghan refugee children in Pakistan and Iran where this was available and found to be relevant. The study follows the key precepts of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, considering children as up to the age of 18 years. 1. KEY FINDINGS Where the first decade of the war focused in rural areas, the second has seen widespread destruction of urban infrastructure, increasing political isolation and lack of a functioning government infrastructure. The economic situation has worsened leaving few job opportunities outside of the subsistence and illicit economies. Conflict in Kabul and other urban centres and the repressive policies of the Taliban have led to an exodus of educated Afghans from the country in the 1990s. Afghans' capacities to cope with the changing situation have been severely weakened; where community networks were most affected during the first decade, the last 10 years have seen erosion of extended family networks - the most essential of traditional coping mechanisms. The number of Afghans who have known their country at peace is now smaller than those who have known war for most if not all of their lives. By the late 1990s, it is estimated that 10.3 million of the 21.4 million population of Afghanistan are children under 18 years of age. a) Threats to Children's survival Afghanistan has some of the worst social indicators in the world. Around 45 women die each day of pregnancy-related causes due to lack of appropriate medical care and indirect causes such as anaemia and malaria. A quarter of all live -born children die before the age of five years - many of them due to perinatal causes (including birth trauma and neonatal tetanus), diarrhoea, pneumonia and vaccine-preventable diseases. Iron deficiency anaemia is widespread, affecting half to two-thirds of children under 5 years, and as many as 30% of children demonstrate iodine deficiency in certain areas. Large numbers of children are chronically malnourished with 45-59% of children showing high levels of stunting, a contributing factor to maternal mortality amongst adolescent girls in a culture where as many as half of all girls are married before