2004 UC Proceedings Abstract
Afghanistan: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow? Track: Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Affairs Author(s): Bonita Chamberlin Twenty-six years ago Afghanistan exported food despite its harsh landscape. In 1976, annual agricultural exports exceeded $500,000,000. Some people lived close to the edge but one rarely saw hungry Afghans. Today, poetry nor the stupendous landscape can conceal the fact that there is extreme poverty everywhere in the country. Three decades of war have left 25 million people affected by loss of income, famine, and deteriorating health. The statistics are frightening: an estimated 8 million Afghans are in a state of absolute poverty, an estimated 500,000 disabled orphans, millions of widows, 1 out of 4 children who do not reach the age of 5, an average life expectancy of 40 years, infant mortality rate of 1650 per 10,000 live births, maternal mortality rate of 170 per 10,000 live births, only 13% of the population have access to safe water and only 1% of the population have access to adequate sanitation. Bonita Chamberlin Institute For Continuing Education 8176 center street la mesa , CA 91942 US Phone: 619 445-3777 E-mail: lapis27@aol.com |
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