U.N. Report : Afghanistan Worst Nation to be Born In
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has indicated Afghanistan as the worst nation for a child to be born in, in their annual The State of the World’s Children report. Even after an 8 year presence of United States and NATO troops, Afghan children still face high risk of otherwise eradicated diseases, lack of access to clean drinking water, attacks, harassment, and lack of proper education:
Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world — 257 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 70 per cent of the population lacks access to clean water, the agency said.
As Taliban insurgents increase their presence across the country, growing insecurity is also making it hard to carry out vital vaccination campaigns against polio, a crippling disease still endemic in the country, and measles that can kill children.
“Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born,” Daniel Toole, UNICEF regional director for South Asia, told a news briefing in Geneva.
A Taliban-led insurgency and militant attack on an international guest-house in Kabul that killed five UN foreign staff last month prompted the world body to evacuate hundreds of international staff from Afghanistan for several weeks.
Some 43 per cent of the country is now virtually off-limits to aid agencies due to insecurity, according to Toole.
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Read full State of the World’s Children report here.
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