Afghanistan Projects

Hope for Disabled Children

Hope for Disabled Children was a new initiative of Global Partners, Badakhshan, Afghanistan, in 2009. Its goal was to identify families with disabled children and to bring them Hope. Assistance was primarily offered in: 1.) caring for the medical needs of disabled children in their own homes, 2.) providing nutritional support and assistance (food items) and 3.) seeking to improve the overall well-being and financial situation of families disadvantaged by disabled children.

We have, to date, identified 24 families with one or more disabled children in the Faizabad area. An American family doctor from Global Partners provided these with diagnoses of their medical problems and treatments for illnesses. GP supported their families with food supplements (monthly) and occasional gifts of blankets, shoes, clothes, toys, etc. To date 7 children have been sent to Kabul for surgery in cooperation with the French Medical Institute for Children (FMIC), and the French NGO La Chaine de L’ Espoir. In addition, 3 children from our project have had surgery at the local Faizabad Provincial Hospital – with the help of a visiting Canadian surgeon that we recruited. This surgeon also consulted on 5 other children from our project.

Our recipients have such diagnoses as: Mental retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Hip dysplasia, Autism, Down’s syndrome, Club Foot, Seizures, Morphea (linear scleroderma) and Achondroplasia.

We are thankful for excellent cooperation with:
• MOPH Badakhshan
• ICRC Faizabad and Kabul
• French Medical Institute for Children (Kabul)
• French NGO — La Chaine de L’ Espoir

Global Partners is pleased to serve these underserved and very deserving families, and considers it a privilege to help bring Hope into their homes.

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.