CARE in Afghanistan

Girls were denied an education under Afghanistan’s repressive Taliban regime, and the schools that did exist offered boys a religious education, but little else.

In Afghanistan we:

educate on health care issues
improve access to education
help people set up small businesses

Poverty levels are high in Afghanistan, with many of the population living on less than £1 a day. Many people are scarred from more than 25 years of conflict, years of Taliban rule and a series of earthquakes.

CARE in action:

Education
Two thirds of Afghans over the age of 15 cannot read or write. We know that educating people – especially women – is at the heart of fighting poverty, so we run community schools where girls can learn and women can teach, both can find a way back into the country’s education system and ensure better opportunities for the future.

Improving healthcare
Afghanistan also has some of the worst health levels in the world, so we train people to live more healthily, even in what are considered taboo areas such as sexual and reproductive health. This is major area for us and something we view as essential to helping people find a way out of poverty.

Earning a decent living
There are many vulnerable widows now living in Kabul and we are helping them to develop the skills to successfully establish and run a business and thereby earn a living. We provide these women with the necessary equipment and training to rear, for example, poultry and sell eggs to the community.

Nearly 99 per cent of our staff in Afghanistan are Afghans, so we have a good connection with the communities we work with.