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- Charts, Graphs, Maps UNDP and Government release first ever Afghanistan National Human Development Report
With considerable anticipation and media attention, Monday February 21 saw the landmark launch of the first ever Afghan National Human Development Report. The event, attended by several dignitaries and speakers, was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul.
Initiated in April 2003 by the Government of Afghanistan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this comprehensive study entitled "Security with a Human Face," calculates the Human Development Index measured by three of the most important basic and universal social indicators: life expectancy, adult literacy and enrolment in school, and earning a decent standard of living.
The index ranked Afghanistan 173 out of 178 countries, just above five African countries (Burundi, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Sierra Leone).
The report which took 18 months to produce received financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the World Bank.
Since 1990 the UNDP has been producing these annual reports which are analytical and policy tools designed to promote human development. This particular report was developed with the aid of research papers, interviews, and consultations with elders and scholars. Afghanistan has not been included before in the survey due to a lack of available data.
President Hamid Karzai was pleased the report placed Afghanistan for the first time in global development comparisons, but expressed concern about the results of the findings, particularly in the areas of childbirth deaths and the illiteracy rate in Afghanistan. Both are among the highest in the world. Saying this was "understandable", President Karzai added it is "no longer acceptable." "My government intends to use this report for policy guidance and as a yardstick with which to measure its future achievements."
Haneef Atmar, the Minister for Rural Rehabilitation and Development, praised the report, highlighting the fact it allowed people to understand why Afghanistan is poor, the key ways to address poverty, the insecurity facing the nation in order to ensure the many faces of security. "Afghanistan," he said, "can only help a durable peace and stability if our poor and our marginalized people are part of our economic growth and are at the heart of our strategy to provide them with that human security."
In her welcoming speech, Ameerah Haq, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan said the Afghan-led report is intended to stimulate debate and discussion around an important issue. It is not a statement or a policy of the United Nations.
Other keynote speakers included UNDP Associate Administrator Zéphirin Diabré and the Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Christopher Alexander.
The report produced a mixture of positive notes with low points of human development. Among them is education. Afghanistan's literacy rate is one of the lowest among developing countries. Only 28.7 per cent of Afghans over the age of 15 are able to read and write.
Nearly 80 per cent of the country's 6,900 schools were damaged or destroyed because of the fighting. On a positive note, a "Back to School" campaign has seen more than three million students, in grades 1 through 12, and 70,000 teachers return to schools [editor’s note: most recent survey by UNICEF shows 4.2 million students between grades 1 and 12 are enrolled in school and 100,000 teachers are in place across the country].
The average life expectancy in Afghanistan is 44.5 years at birth. This is at least 20 years lower than neighbouring countries and 6.1 years lower than the averages of the least developed countries.
As mentioned previously, infant and maternal mortality rates are also among the highest in the world. One out of five children dies before the age of five, and one woman dies from pregnancy-related causes approximately every 30 minutes. However, vaccination programmes against measles and
Promising Signs
Although a history of discrimination have held back Afghan women, especially in the areas of women's health and education, there have been promising developments in the last couple of years - a new constitution has outlawed gender discrimination and recognizes the equality of men and women. Further, during the last Presidential Election 40 per cent of women voted, an encouraging turnout. According to the Afghan constitution women will constitute at least 25 per cent of the new parliament when legislative elections take place later this year.
According to the report there is clearly a desire among Afghan women to assume leadership roles in their country and a gradual acceptance by Afghan society for women to make a stronger public contribution.
Under the post-Taliban government, Afghanistan's economy has recovered significantly. Non-drug Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to USD $4.05 billion in 2002. Over the next decade, non-drug GDP is expected to grow by 10 to12 per cent. While reliable data is not available, anecdotal evidence suggests that economic growth so far has done little to alleviate the extent of inequality, whether it is related to income, gender or geographical location.
Human Security
Years of conflict in Afghanistan have led to a lack of the most basic tenet, human security, prominently captured in the report's title, "Security with a Human Face." An important factor which relates directly to where Afghanistan has been and needs to go as a nation.
The other main threats facing Afghans are identified as chronic and pervasive poverty, poor livelihoods, poor health and nutrition status, massive population displacements, and a degraded environment.
UNDP will be organizing a series of lectures and seminars on human development topics arising from the report. This will be done in conjunction with the Government of Afghanistan and civil society partners, including Kabul University. UNDP foresees that these events will lead to policy dialogue and will inform development related decisionmaking at all levels. UNDP also plans to carry out several provincial launches over the coming months to introduce findings from the report to other parts of the country.