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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in Afghanistan in the early years of the 21st Century.
Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are
unsubstantiated, misleading or even false. No attempt has been
made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of poverty are of particular
interest to you. You might be
interested in exploring the relationship between distribution of labor and
per-capita GDP, for example. Perhaps
your paper could focus on life expectancy or infant mortality. Other factors of interest might be
unemployment, literacy, access to basic services, etc. On the other hand, you might choose to
include some of the possible outgrowths of poverty such as Human Trafficking,
Street Children,
or even Prostitution. There is a lot to the subject of
Poverty. Scan other countries as well
as this one. Draw comparisons between
activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. *** Extreme Weather expected in 2024 *** According
to a recent article from Phys.org, Afghanistan is currently experiencing a
drought due to a lack of snowfall, which is a sign of the heavy toll of
global warming on the country. The lack of snow has forced many farmers to
delay planting, which could lead to serious droughts in the future, putting
heavy pressure on livelihoods and the economic sector. In
addition, another article from Phys.org states that climate change is
expected to have severe effects on Afghanistan over the coming decades, with
extreme temperature rises of more than 6 degrees Celsius if global carbon
emissions are left unchecked. – Microsoft BING Copilot *** ARCHIVES *** The World Factbook - Afghanistan U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html [accessed 9 November
2020] World Factbook
website has moved to ---> www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan/ [accessed 5 January 2021] Despite
improvements in life expectancy, incomes, and literacy since 2001,
Afghanistan is extremely poor, landlocked, and highly dependent on foreign
aid. Much of the population continues to suffer from shortages of housing,
clean water, electricity, medical care, and jobs. Corruption, insecurity,
weak governance, lack of infrastructure, and the Afghan Government's
difficulty in extending rule of law to all parts of the country pose
challenges to future economic growth. Afghanistan's living standards are
among the lowest in the world. Since 2014, the economy has slowed, in large
part because of the withdrawal of nearly 100,000 foreign troops that had
artificially inflated the country’s economic growth. GDP -
per capita (PPP): $2,000 (2017
est.) Labor
force - by occupation: agriculture:
44.3% industry:
18.1% services: 37.6% (2017 est.) Unemployment
rate: 23.9% (2017
est.) Population
below poverty line: 54.5% (2017
est.) Maternal
mortality rate: 638
deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) Infant
mortality rate: total: 104.3 deaths/1,000 live births Life
expectancy at birth: total population: 52.8 years Drinking
water source: improved: total: 70.2% of
population Physicians
density: 0.28 physicians/1,000 population (2016) Sanitation
facility access: improved: total: 53.2% of
population Electricity
access: electrification - total population: 84.1% (2016) The
Borgen Project - Afghanistan borgenproject.org/category/afghanistan/ [accessed 19 January 2021] The Borgen Project works with U.S. leaders to utilize the
United States’ platform behind efforts toward improving living conditions for
the world’s poor. It is an innovative,
national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign
policy. It believes that leaders of
the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global
poverty. From ending segregation to providing women with the right to vote,
nearly every wrong ever righted in history was achieved through advocacy. The
Borgen Project addresses the big picture, operating
at the political level advancing policies and programs that improve living
conditions for those living on less than $1 per day. ~
Mini-Grids Bring Green Energy To Rural Afghanistan borgenproject.org/green-energy-to-rural-afghanistan/ ~
Improving Women’s Rights In Afghanistan borgenproject.org/improving-womens-rights-in-afghanistan/ ~
Schooling During Covid-19 In Impoverished Countries borgenproject.org/schooling-during-covid-19/ ~
Updates On Sdg Goal 1 In Afghanistan borgenproject.org/updates-on-sdg-goal-1-in-afghanistan/ ~
Afghan Women Aid War-Torn Communities borgenproject.org/afghan-women/ Hunger Hotspots - FAO-WFP early warnings on acute food insecurity - March to July 2021 outlook Food and Agriculture Org of the UN FAO, World Food Program WFP, 2021 [accessed 30 May 2021] COUNTRIES
WITH CATASTROPHIC SITUATIONS: FAMINE-LIKE CONDITIONS OR FACTORS LEADING TO A
RISK OF FAMINE -- In Afghanistan, 2.2 million additional people moved into
critical levels of acute food insecurity in one year, resulting in 5.5
million expected to be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) as of March 2021.
Escalating conflict, a weak economic environment and dry conditions for key
harvests are expected to continue increasing food insecurity and reducing
access to humanitarian aid. Afghan
refugee helping war widows escape poverty cycle Sayed Salahuddin, Arab News, Kabul,16 January 2021 www.arabnews.com/node/1793451/world [accessed 16 January
2021] Helping
Orphans estimates that there are as many as 3.5 million widows and 2.6
million orphans in Afghanistan today. Often uneducated, the women face few
options if their husbands die, while children end up working out of necessity
and never receive an education. In
Kabul, the charity now enrolls children in school while their mothers take
part in three-month courses to become tailors, allowing them to be
self-reliant. About 20 women have completed the first training courses. The
charity is now planning to open more courses and teach other professions,
like hairdressing, to help women provide for themselves. “We
want them to learn how to fish rather than giving them a fish. Seizing the chance for peace and prosperity in Afghanistan Axel Van Trotsenburg, World Bank Blogs, 19 November 2020 [Long URL] [accessed 26 November 2020] In May
2002, then World Bank Group President James Wolfensohn
reopened the World Bank office in Kabul after a 23-year hiatus. Our work
resumed immediately to meet the needs of the poorest Afghans and help the
battered nation rebuild its institutions and deliver public services to its
citizens. Afghanistan
has come a long way since then, driving some of the fastest progress in the
world against key development outcomes, including reduced infant mortality,
improved education enrolment, and expanded access to electricity. The
Afghan economy is expected to shrink by more than five percent in 2020.
Businesses are struggling amid lockdowns and border closures, with more than
one-third of businesses laying off staff. The human
impact has been severe, with higher unemployment, reduced remittances, and higher
prices for essential household goods. A majority of Afghans may now not have
enough income to meet their basic needs. Action
Against Hunger - Afghanistan www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/asia/afghanistan [accessed 21 March 2021] As a
politically fragmented, natural disaster-prone nation, Afghanistan has long
faced levels of chronic insecurity, internal displacement, and widespread
poverty that has subjected its populations to
ongoing hardships and recurring humanitarian crises. Communities remain food
insecure for a range of reasons, from the cumulative impacts of multiple
droughts, erratic climate shocks and seasonal flooding, a lack of
infrastructure and limited access to markets -- problems that are especially
acute among vulnerable populations in remote regions. The
World Bank In Afghanistan www.worldbank.org/en/country/afghanistan/overview [accessed 15 April 2021] Afghanistan’s
biggest economic challenge is finding sustainable sources of growth. To date,
the World Bank has committed more than $5.3 billion for development projects.
The Bank-administered Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund has raised more
than $12.9 billion. Looking
back a few years … Advameg, Inc., Encyclopedia of the Nations www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Afghanistan-ECONOMY.html [accessed 13 December 2020] Afghanistan's
economy has been devastated by over 20 years of war. Hampered by an unintegrated
economy until relatively late in the post-World War II period, only in the
1950s did the building of new roads begin to link the country's commercial
centers with the wool and fruit-producing areas. Largely agricultural and
pastoral, the country is highly dependent on farming and livestock raising
(sheep and goats). In Afghanistan, 85 percent of the people are engaged in
agriculture The
majority of the population continues to suffer from insufficient food,
clothing, housing, and medical care, problems exacerbated by military
operations and political uncertainties. The presence of an estimated 10
million land mines has also hindered the ability of Afghans to engage in
agriculture or other forms of economic activity. Inflation remains a serious problem. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT
COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Prof. Martin
Patt, "Poverty - Afghanistan", http://gvnet.com/poverty/Afghanistan.htm,
[accessed <date>] |
