Fact Sheet
Health
- The average life expectancy for women in Afghanistan decreased to 43.3 in 2006 from 44 years in 2002 [NHDR07]
- The female infant mortality rate in Afghanistan is 154 out of every 1,000 births (2006) [WHO]
- The probability of female infants dying before the age of 5 is 254 out of every 1,000 births, compared to 260 for males (2006) [WHO]
- The World Health Organization states that Afghan women's "Healthy life expectancy" (HALE) at birth was 36 years compared to 35 for men (2003) [WHO]
- 48% of women are iron-deficient [WFP]
- As of June 2007, there were 2,750 doctors and 2,189 nurses in government service. Of the total number of doctors, 21.9% were women, while 17% of nurses were women. Most mid-wives (98%) in Afghanistan were females. The percentage of females in the total staff working under the Ministry of Public Health was 23.3% [MoWA]
Maternal Health
- In 2008 there were 1,667 midwives employed with the Ministry of Public Health [CSO]
- The Department of Women and Reproductive Health was established within the Ministry of Health in 2003 [UNICEF]
- A Basic Package of Health Services has been implemented by the Ministry of Public Health which includes emergency obstetric care
- Contraceptive prevalence among women was estimated at 23% in 2008, up from only 5% in 2003, yet only 15% of married women report using some form of contraception. [NRVA 2007/8 ]
- Perinatal conditions are the main cause of death in Afghanistan, at 13% of all deaths (2002) [WHO]
- One woman dies every 29 minutes in child birth - the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world (1,600 deaths per 100,000 live births) (2000-2007) [UNICEF]
- 32% of women receive prenatal care by a skilled professional and approximately 19% of births are attended by a skilled attendant (2006) [WHO]
UNIFEM