Afghanistan Projects

Afghanistan


Global Partners has been engaging Afghanistan in relief and development work since 1993, and works in eleven provinces that are grouped into three geographical areas for accountability and management. The Central Region is based in Kabul and includes work in four provinces. The Northern Region is lead from Mazar-I-Sharif and extends into five of the northern provinces of the country. The Western Region includes two provinces and is based in Herat. Global Partners Afghanistan’s national office is in Kabul, and provides administrative oversight and support for the country.

GP’s recent work in the Western Region of Afghanistan

GP’s recent work in the Northern Region of Afghanistan

GP’s recent work in the Central Region of Afghanistan

GP Afghanistan’s vision is to enable the Afghan people through sustainable development; we demonstrate love for the Afghan people by providing health care, educational services, and community development projects.

Through our own programs and through technical support for the programs of the government, other NGOs, and the United Nations, we seek to support the Afghanistan National Development Strategy with measurable activities in the health and education sectors, as well as in local community development. We value building relationships between our foreign volunteers and the Afghan people, and thereby emphasize language competency, cultural sensitivity, professional competence, good stewardship, strong accountability, and strategic collaboration as the means by which we expect to most effectively accomplish our work.

Our projects in Afghanistan include: emergency refugee relief, food for work projects, building wells and irrigation systems, agricultural development, skills development projects, education projects, medical assistance, community health education, curing Tuberculosis patients through Community DOTS (in over 1,000 villages), training medical professionals, and involvement in other community development projects.

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.