Message<strong>Afghanistan</strong> is a country that has faced more than twenty four years of war and two greatest armed aggressors: the Soviet <strong>in</strong>vasionand <strong>in</strong>ternational terrorism. Dur<strong>in</strong>g these try<strong>in</strong>g periods, the Afghans have greatly suffered, witness<strong>in</strong>g mass murders, violence, forcedmigrations etc. One of the ma<strong>in</strong> consequences of these events has been disability of a large number of Afghans <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g children,women and men who have lost their limbs dur<strong>in</strong>g the wars, by landm<strong>in</strong>es and UXOs. While hundreds of thousands of Afghans weredisabled by war and landm<strong>in</strong>es, many more have acquired impairments from birth, <strong>in</strong>adequate healthcare, congenital disabilities,accidents or malnutrition and preventable diseases such as polio. Large numbers of people who were psychologically traumatisedreceive m<strong>in</strong>imal services, if any. In addition, there are many people with learn<strong>in</strong>g disabilities, mental impairments and multipledisabilities that are yet to receive adequate attention from the <strong>in</strong>ternational community, the Government of <strong>Afghanistan</strong> and disabilityorganisations work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.Unfortunately, <strong>in</strong> addition to these serious problems, lack of healthcare, low economic levels, lack of awareness about disabilities <strong>in</strong>society and <strong>in</strong>adequate education have isolated persons with disabilities and their families even more.Advocat<strong>in</strong>g for the rights of persons with disability is one of the top priorities of the M<strong>in</strong>istry of Martyrs and Disabled and SocialAffairs. The current situation and lack of possibilities <strong>in</strong> the country for persons with disabilities calls for urgent support of the IslamicRepublic of <strong>Afghanistan</strong> and from the national and <strong>in</strong>ternational community and organisations. Despite the <strong>in</strong>itiatives already taken<strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>, a lot has still to be done to fully <strong>in</strong>tegrate persons with disability <strong>in</strong>to the Afghan society.Because of lack of consolidated national data, there was no real accuracy of disability figures on which action could be taken. Therefore,the National Disability Survey <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong> (NDSA) became a priority and was launched <strong>in</strong> September 2004 at the request of theM<strong>in</strong>istry of Martyrs and Disabled and Social Affairs. Information regard<strong>in</strong>g the Afghan population with disabilities was essential toevaluate the extent of needs to be addressed. Understand<strong>in</strong>g livelihood, social participation, cop<strong>in</strong>g strategies and assess<strong>in</strong>g theservices that were effectively available to persons with disability and how they access these is useful knowledge for the M<strong>in</strong>istry ofMartyrs and Disabled and Social Affairs, as well as other partners to def<strong>in</strong>e a National Disability Strategy. Such a strategy, based onscientific knowledge, aims at design<strong>in</strong>g and coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g effective public policies <strong>in</strong> a context of limited resources.I am extremely pleased that dur<strong>in</strong>g the crucial time and with landm<strong>in</strong>es affect<strong>in</strong>g Afghans every day this survey is now scientificallyand technically completed. I am confident that the results and f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs presented here will be of great value to all decision-makerswork<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the field of disability <strong>in</strong> order to def<strong>in</strong>e programmes and policies that are relevant, efficient and susta<strong>in</strong>able.Once aga<strong>in</strong> I would like to thank <strong>Handicap</strong> <strong>International</strong> who has carried out this study and I wish more success for HI. The Afghannation will never forget the support of anybody <strong>in</strong> this critical situation <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.Hajji Sayed Mohammad Hadi “Hadi”Deputy M<strong>in</strong>ister of Martyrs and Disabled and Social Affairsx National Disability Survey <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong> 2005
PrefaceThe National Disability Survey <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong> was undertaken by <strong>Handicap</strong> <strong>International</strong> on behalf of the Government of <strong>Afghanistan</strong>and supported by a number of donors <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g reliable <strong>in</strong>formation that could assist the government and relevantstakeholders to target limited resources address<strong>in</strong>g the needs of people with disability throughout the country. It is with this <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>dthat the NDSA was developed and funded. Information is key for the development of policy and programme activities and is essentialfor cont<strong>in</strong>ued advocacy and support of disabled persons globally.The fieldwork by the NDSA team was completed under extreme security situations and harsh conditions. The work of draft<strong>in</strong>g theresults of the research has now been completed. This long awaited process, supported by those with<strong>in</strong> the disability sector and thedonor community, is ready for use. This executive summary gives an overview of the entire research project that is available <strong>in</strong>supplementary research chapters focus<strong>in</strong>g on specific issues of education, health, employment and gender and will be <strong>in</strong>valuable forprogramme plann<strong>in</strong>g and advocacy activities.Although the NDSA prevalence rate for disability may be perceived as lower than expected, I believe that when compared to thoseprevalence rates of other nations impacted by landm<strong>in</strong>es and recover<strong>in</strong>g from conflict, the <strong>Afghanistan</strong> figures will be among thehighest. I also believe that as we push forward with programme activities and advocacy through our government partners, theprevalence rates will beg<strong>in</strong> to <strong>in</strong>crease as the availability of services, better healthcare, awareness of disability causes and issues alongwith greater <strong>in</strong>clusion of people with disability, will br<strong>in</strong>g about a marked change <strong>in</strong> the survival of disabled persons and the report<strong>in</strong>gof disability <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.I have been part of the NDSA survey team from the very beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g. I am proud of the work put forward by my dedicated colleaguesand believe that the dissem<strong>in</strong>ation of this important <strong>in</strong>formation will assist us <strong>in</strong> mov<strong>in</strong>g forward the M<strong>in</strong>e Ban Treaty obligations forvictim assistance and mark<strong>in</strong>g progress with<strong>in</strong> the context of “Address<strong>in</strong>g the rights and needs of m<strong>in</strong>e survivors and other personswith disabilities: The Government of the Islamic Republic of <strong>Afghanistan</strong>’s objectives and plan of action for the period 2006-2009”.Information is key to rais<strong>in</strong>g awareness and advocat<strong>in</strong>g for the rights and dignity of all people, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g those people with disabilitythroughout <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.Susan HelsethVictim Assistance and M<strong>in</strong>e Risk Education Coord<strong>in</strong>atorUNMACA/UNICEFPrefacexi