Disabled Afghan Man
The war-torn Afghanistan is one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. As a result, around 2,000 Afghans become disabled each year due to mine blasts and related incidents. In 2011, USA TODAY wrote: According to a U.S. Agency of International Development assessment, one in five households have at least one person with a disability, putting a financial strain on many already impoverished families that count on everyone to contribute to the household income. The Afghan government estimates that between 800,000 and 2 million people are disabled, the majority of whom were injured during the past three decades. As the population approaches 30 million, Afghanistan has among the highest percentage of disabled people in the world.
Over half of Afghanistan’s disabled population is under 19, say organizations helping people with disability. Over 72 percent of all disabled people over six have not received any education, Afghanistan’s National Disability Survey (NDS) said in 2005.
IRIN News adds: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has donated prostheses and orthoses (artificial aids such as a brace) to over 80,000 disabled people since it launched its orthopedic services in Afghanistan in 1988.