Afghanistan Projects

Community Health Education


The majority of Afghans live in rural areas, and community health education at the village level may be the most effective health care strategy for improving quality of life in Afghanistan. Throughout 2010 in a rural area around Mazar I Sharif, Global Partners’ Community Health Education team has presented health education lessons to 2672 women, 1070 men and over 1500 children (approximately equal numbers of both genders). These lessons included Personal & Environmental Sanitation, Tuberculosis, Goiter, Breastfeeding and Pregnancy, Prevention and treatment of Diarrhea, Malaria and Worms. This training was carried out in homes and schools within the community.

Alongside this training, local midwives were trained in Birth Life-Saving Skills and 14 people were trained up to carry on the training when we no longer have a presence in the community. Throughout the year 1000 hygiene kits were distributed to compliment the training on personal hygiene. These kits included shampoo, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, washing powder and nail clippers. 500 bottles of chlorine were also distributed to families for water purification.

Facts About Afghanistan

  • Area: 652,230 sq. km.
  • Borders: China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
  • Arable Land: 12.13%
  • Natural Hazards: Earthquakes, droughts, flooding
  • Population: 29,835,392 (July 2011 est.)
  • Urban Population: 23% of total population (2010)
  • Infant Mortality Rate: 149.2 deaths / 1,000 live births (#2 in world)
  • Life Expectancy at Birth: 45.02 years
  • Literacy (age 15+ can read and write): 28.1% (Male: 43.1%; Female: 12.6%)
  • GDP - per capita (PPP): $900 USD (2010 est.)

More About Afghanistan:

The population of Afghanistan is about thirty million. Pashtuns are the predominant ethnic group in Afghanistan, comprising forty-two percent of the population. Other ethnic groups include the Tajiks (twenty-seven percent), Hazaras (nine percent), Uzbeks (nine percent) and other minority groups such as the Aimak, Turkmen and Baluch. Dari is the official language of the government. However, many other languages are spoken in Afghanistan, including Pashtu, Hazaragi, Uzbek, and Turkmen. Religiously, Afghanistan is over ninety-nine percent Muslim, with an estimated eighty percent Sunni Muslims and an estimated nineteen percent Shiite Muslims.

Read a brief history of Afghanistan

Today, Global Partners works alongside the United Nations and many other international NGOs to provide essential development and support. Afghanistan's infrastructure, such as roads, electricity, and water sanitation, is in poor condition. Medical care is lacking, especially in rural areas. This results in a national life expectancy of only forty-five years, the second highest infant mortality rate in the world, and the highest rate of maternal mortality. Furthermore, the educational system is struggling to recover after decades of war; less than thirty percent of men are literate and only about thirteen percent of women. Cultivation of poppies also remains a significant concern, as Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium. Although there has been a great deal of reconstruction in the past ten years, much, much more is needed in order to alleviate poverty, provide adequate health care, create economic opportunities, and educate the next generation.