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Afghanistan

Devastated by decades of conflict and hard hit by natural disasters, Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in Asia

Millions of dollars have been pumped into Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 but although the economy has recovered greatly, more than half of all Afghans continue to live below the poverty line.

It is estimated at least 6.5 million people out of a population of between 21 and 26 million are dependent on food aid, and only 23% of the population currently have access to safe drinking water.

CAFOD spent £138,000 in Afghanistan in 2008

Poor living conditions, healthcare and diet mean that average life expectancy in Afghanistan is just 44 years (at least 15 years lower than in neighbouring countries), and a fifth of children die before they reach the age of five.

The country still faces numerous problems including the return of millions of refugees, continued warlordism, drug trafficking and a new government struggling with growing insecurity and competing political forces.

Afghan worker unloads a sack of flour at a market in Kabul September 21, 2008 [REUTERS/Omar Sobhani, courtesy www.alertnet.org]

Helping those in need in Afghanistan

CAFOD has donated £150,000 to help families in Western Afghanistan badly affected by the current food price crisis

Key challenges

Afghanistan’s economy was seriously damaged by decades of war, and despite recent growth, is still one of the poorest country in Asia

CAFOD supported communities with seeds, tools and training to help local people move home and reintegrate in Northern Uganda [CAFOD]

CAFOD film to star in UN festival

Our documentary about war-torn Northern Uganda will mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights at the “We the Peoples” film festival

[REUTERS/Omar Sobhani, courtesy www.alertnet.org]

Women working for themselves

CRS Afghanistan works to improve women’s livelihoods by giving grants to women-managed businesses and enterprises

Afghan children sitting on a truck. Thousands of children are either begging or working in the streets [REUTERS/Ali Imam, courtesy www.alertnet.org]

Schooling sacrificed to poverty

The Mayhan Foundation aims to give orphans, working children and other poor children in Afghanistan the opportunity to have an education

Schoolgirls in the southern Indian city of Chennai form a human chain to protest against the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka, October 24, 2008 [REUTERS/Babu (INDIA), courtesy www.alertnet.org]

The forgotten war of Sri Lanka

CAFOD's Mary Lucas highlights the cause of the growing numbers of civilians caught in the crossfire of northern Sri Lanka’s escalating conflict

Families at the Mar Garh camp, Afghanistan, received vital assistance from CAFOD and Islamic Relief [Marsha Pereira]

Meeting women's basic needs

Two years after Taliban rule ended in Afghanistan, thousands of refugees - most of them women and children - returned to the war-ravaged country

A family outside their home in Kashmir, India.

Torn apart by its neighbours

The status of Kashmir, which was partitioned in 1947, and the history of events leading to its division, have long been violently contested between India and Pakistan

Published on 30/07/2003, last updated on 16/01/2009

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