Poverty In Afghanistan
I attended a speaker who was formerly a soldier in Afghanistan. While he was stationed there, the speaker befriended many Afghans and noticed the reality of poverty. He discussed the current issues in Afghanistan; i was most interested in the issues involving healthcare. Afghanistan is a very poor country, and although the Afghan government has support many countries world-wide, the people of Afghanistan do not get the aid that the need. 1 in 5 babies die and most women die in childbirth due to the lack of hospitals. The life expectancy of the average Afghan is 44 years, compared to the United States, where the average life expectancy is about 77 years. On top of this, Afghanistan has produced over 100% of the world's opium crop, putting Afghans at risk of drug addiction, often starting at a young age. Drought is very common in Afghanistan, causing a lack of clean water, as well as a large risk of drought, causing crops to fail, and potentially leading to starvation. $40 billion dollars have been contributed to the efort to create a stable Afghanistan: enough to help solve growing problems. However, the money was not well spent, keeping Afghanistan in a long term povertic state.
Things to think about:
- Many Afghans turn to Alcaida and Taliban because of the complications of living in poverty. How do you think the country would change if these groups weren't existent in Afghanistan?
- The Afghan people are very religious; how would this tie them together and unite against the outside forces such as the Taliban, Alcaida, as well as the poverty?
- If two problems in Afghanistan were to be changed, what would you choose to change, and how would those changes benefit the country?
Images:
