Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a country located in south-Central Asia. It shares borders with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Kabul is the Capital and the largest city. Afghanistan is a Unitary Presidential Islamic Republic with a population of 32 million. 23.9% live in urban areas, 71.4% live in rural areas and 4.7 are nomadic. Afghanistan’s economy is the worlds 108th largest. The official languages are Pashto and Dari, bilingualism is very common. 99.7% of the population are Muslim. Afghanistan is a land locked mountainous country at the Western end of the Himalayas. It is the 15th least developed country in the world and the life expectancy is around 60 years of age, with a median age of 17.4. Despite having many rivers and reservoirs the majority of the country is dry and two thirds of the country’s water flows into neighboring countries. The vast mountainous areas of the county also endure almost yearly earthquakes. (1 entire paragraph)
As with any impoverished country there are an overwhelming magnitude of health issues. Besides Polio (which is the primary topic of this Blog), Afghanistan struggles with a host of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and leishmaniasis.(2) Then there are the non-communicable diseases such as maternal mortality, infant mortality, drought and road accidents that stress an already overwhelmed healthcare infrastructure.(2,1) Thought it couldn’t get any worse? Decades of war, which continues to this day has left its mark on the men and young men of the country. Attacks on education and healthcare facilities are an almost daily occurrence,(3) further complicating the access to care crisis. Minors are estimated to make up half of the population with disabilities.(3) With no shortage of health issues to deal with and the countries future physically compromised the future looks bleak for Afghanistan and its people without humanitarian aid.
References
1. Afghanistan-Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
2. WHO's Achievements in Afghanistan, 2016-2017, World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/
3. Humanitarian response plan, Afghanistan, World Health Organization, January 2018-December 2021, https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/afg_2019_humanitarian_response_plan.pdf
As with any impoverished country there are an overwhelming magnitude of health issues. Besides Polio (which is the primary topic of this Blog), Afghanistan struggles with a host of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, and leishmaniasis.(2) Then there are the non-communicable diseases such as maternal mortality, infant mortality, drought and road accidents that stress an already overwhelmed healthcare infrastructure.(2,1) Thought it couldn’t get any worse? Decades of war, which continues to this day has left its mark on the men and young men of the country. Attacks on education and healthcare facilities are an almost daily occurrence,(3) further complicating the access to care crisis. Minors are estimated to make up half of the population with disabilities.(3) With no shortage of health issues to deal with and the countries future physically compromised the future looks bleak for Afghanistan and its people without humanitarian aid.
References
1. Afghanistan-Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan
2. WHO's Achievements in Afghanistan, 2016-2017, World Health Organization, http://www.who.int/
3. Humanitarian response plan, Afghanistan, World Health Organization, January 2018-December 2021, https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/sites/www.humanitarianresponse.info/files/documents/files/afg_2019_humanitarian_response_plan.pdf