Country

SHAMSHATOO, 23 May 2012 (IRIN) - Widespread poverty and ignorance, negative attitudes to the education of girls, and the lack of proper documents for children of Afghan migrants are some of the obstacles to school enrolment in a poor suburb of Peshawar in Pakistan, say local officials.

05/23/2012 06:42 GMT

by Lawrence Bartlett

KABUL, May 23, 2012 (AFP) - Far from the bright lights of Chicago where world leaders met to shape NATO's exit from Afghanistan, one of the war's victims, 12-year-old Aleema, sums up her life in three words: "It's the worst."

Aleema, who has lived in a mud hovel in a refugee camp on the outskirts of Kabul for four years since her family fled fighting in southern Afghanistan, is one of the forgotten people of the NATO summit, which ended on Monday.

NATO and its partners will agree at the Chicago summit on continued support for Afghan security forces, including for the post-2014 period. Norway will provide NOK 150 million a year for the Afghan army and police force after 2014.

When the ISAF mission comes to an end in 2014, Norway will increase its funding for the security sector in Afghanistan, bringing its total funding to NOK 150 million a year (around NOK 60 million for the army and NOK 90 million for the police).

May 22, 2012

Afghanistan needs economic growth and good governance just as much as security. The Netherlands has stressed this point at the NATO Summit in Chicago, prime minister Mark Rutte has told journalists.

Today the NATO allies will consider the strategic plan for Afghanistan from 2015 to 2017. The country will then be responsible for its own security, with funding from the international community. The Netherlands will contribute an annual €30 million: €25 for policing and €5 for the armed forces.

22 MAY 2012 | NANGARHAR, AFGHANISTAN

Nine stricken families in the eastern province of Nangarhar received food and support in the initial aftermath of the suicide attack. Now, they will receive follow-on assistance tailored to their needs

05/22/2012 01:26 GMT

UNITED NATIONS, May 21, 2012 (AFP) - The United Nations will be left holding another very dangerous baby state when international troops leave Afghanistan in 2014, many experts and diplomats believe.

President Barack Obama's warning at the NATO summit in Chicago that "there will be hard days ahead" reinforced the fears of many about Afghanistan after the US-led force -- which still numbers 130,000 -- has left.

Stamford, Conn. – May 21, 2012 – Trumbull-based CooperSurgical, Inc. recently donated a series of Tria® Fetal Dopplers to AmeriCares. These devices will be used to assess fetal viability for expectant mothers in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The hand-held dopplers detect a fetal heart rate as early as 8 weeks from conception allowing physicians to confirm a viable fetus and on occasion detect a potentially life-threatening issue prior to birth when the condition may be treatable.