Nine million Afghans living on less than a dollar a day - survey

KABUL, 5 November 2009 (IRIN) - The average per capita monthly expenditure of nine million Afghans is less than 66 US cents a day, and millions of other Afghans spend about $42 a month, according to a summary of Afghanistan’s new National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA).

NRVA 2007/08 was produced by the government with European Union funding and in collaboration with aid agencies.

A bleak picture is painted:

• 26 percent literacy rate (12 percent female and 39 male)
• 24 percent of all child deliveries are attended by a skilled birth attendant
• Less than 30 percent of people have access to safe drinking water
• Over 90 percent do not have access to proper sanitation
• About 20 percent have electricity in their homes.
• Half of the estimated population of 25 million is under 15  

Source: Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), a project the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. IRIN is UN humanitarian news and information service, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.