Handicap International experience in Afghanistan - CBM

According to NRVA 2003, poverty is strongly correlated with disability in the household, among otherattributes. Poverty is also correlated with lack of access to infrastructure and services, lack of access to schooland health centres, lack of capital assets such as land and livestock. Land ownership is also a divider betweenthe rich and the poor. This section of the report explores the link between disability and poverty, by comparingthe situation of households with a person with disability and those without.The majority ofpersons reportedthat theirhousehold did notreceive enoughfood in general.The results aresimilar for personswith disabilityand non-disabledpersons and thereis no statisticallysignificantdifference betweenthemAvailability of Basic Commodities: Are Households withPersons with Disability More Deprived?This present segment reports the results of the survey with regard to access of persons with disability andthe non-disabled to food, water and latrines, all of which are important elements to ensure good health.Malnutrition, diseases brought about by water and lack of hygiene can also be causes of disability.Supply and Access to Food and Water: Is the Gap Significant?If households with persons with disability are more at risk of falling into poverty, i.e., more vulnerable thanother Afghan households, this should be illustrated by differences in access to basic goods and commodities.When it comes to access to food (Figure 38), the majority of persons reported that their household did notreceive enough food in general. The results are similar for persons with disability and non-disabled personsand there is no statistically significant difference between them. This could imply two things: first, personswith disability are not particularly deprived of food within the household. Second, these persons are deprived,but the general deprivation is so high that this phenomenon is over-shadowed by the overall shortage ofadequate food.A proportion of 16.2% in both groups stated that their households did not receive enough food on a regularbasis, while 19.9% stated that they frequently did not have enough food. Among all households that declarehaving access to enough food, 31.5% stated that the quality was poor and the food was not diversified.Households with persons with disability are a statistically significant higher proportion (35.4%) in terms ofaccess to poor quality food compared to households without a disabled person (31.2%). Thus, it seems thata higher proportion of households with persons with disability are vulnerable to inadequate food supply.Proportions of households with and without persons with disability professing to receive ‘always not enoughfood’ are similar.Figure 38. Distribution of Households with Persons with Disability and Householdswithout Persons with Disability According to Access to Food and WaterAccess to Food403530252015105454035302520151050Access to Drinking Water• Household of Personswith Disability• Household ofNon-disabled0AlwaysEnoughSometimesnot EnoughFrequentlynot EnoughAlways notEnoughAlwaysEnough butPoor QualityLess than5 mins6 to 10mins11 to 15mins16 to 20mins21 to 30mins30 minsand MoreSometimes, in the dry season, it is necessary to walk one entire day to go and fetch water from a river orlake. In case of drought, the situation might be even more dramatic. Inadequate access to water constitutesa major burden and strongly influences standards of living. In 2003, according to NRVA results, only 24.0%54 Understanding the Challenge Ahead