Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM
Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM
Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM
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Mental disability seems to be present throughout, with the highest proportion between ages of 30 and 50.In this section we asked the <strong>in</strong>terviewees what causes they identified to expla<strong>in</strong> their disability. The answersare reported here.Figure 8: Causes of Disability Identified by Respondents3025• Females • Males • Both Sexes20151050Birth/1st YearLandm<strong>in</strong>e/UxoWar InjuryWork AccidentHome AccidentRoad AccidentDiseaseMistreatmentDest<strong>in</strong>y/CurseTragic Personal EventOther/Unknown CauseDisability from birth, or acquired dur<strong>in</strong>g the first year of life, represents 26.4 % of the totalidentified causes 14 . This has been reported as the major explanation for disability. Disease or illness is themost common identified cause. However, we do believe that a large proportion of the first category couldalso come under this explanation. It is believed that improvement of health systems, particularly with theimplementation of the Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g specific services for persons withdisability, will contribute to better treatment and care, especially prenatal and birth care.War-related disabled also constitute a considerable proportion: almost 17% of all declared causes arel<strong>in</strong>ked to past conflicts: landm<strong>in</strong>es or UXO (6.8%) or other types of war <strong>in</strong>juries (10.0%): bullet, grenade,bomb, booby trap, etc. If one considers an average population of 25 million <strong>in</strong>habitants <strong>in</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>, thisrepresents 123,000 people who were affected by war and its consequences; of these almost 50,000 arelandm<strong>in</strong>e or UXO survivors.F<strong>in</strong>ally, a significant number of respondents gave supernatural explanations for their disability. Analyses showthat these reasons are ma<strong>in</strong>ly given for mental forms of disability and epilepsy/seizures.War-relateddisabled alsoconstitute aconsiderableproportion:almost 17%of all declaredcauses are l<strong>in</strong>kedto past conflictsConclusions & RecommendationsTo Sum Up:Accord<strong>in</strong>g to this first overview, Afghans with disability are most likely to:• Live <strong>in</strong> Western and Central areas;• Be men;• Be physically disabled;• Have been either disabled at birth/dur<strong>in</strong>g the first year or have a war-related disability.14We decided to comb<strong>in</strong>e « at birth » and « dur<strong>in</strong>g the first year » <strong>in</strong> order to avoid stigma that is l<strong>in</strong>ked to disability caused from congenitalfactors. Our pre-tests showed that no one admitted that the disability was present « at birth ». In order to obta<strong>in</strong> responses we decided towiden the option. As a result this category can refer to congenital problems or difficult delivery, or to illness or disease dur<strong>in</strong>g very earlychildhood.Prevalence and Typology13