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Some construct makeshift dwellings from mud, poles, plywood, plastic sheeting, and cardboard. The offer little protection from Afghanistan's harsh weather. As a result, around two dozen children under age five froze to death in January 2012 alone.
Water's another major problem, both its safety and amount. So is hard to find work, enough income to survive, and food to avoid starving, let alone unaffordable/inadequate/unavailable healthcare.
Moreover, families "live under constant threat of forced eviction." Bulldozers level their shelters. They have to scramble to save belongings and scavenge to retrieve what they can from rubble.
"Life in close quarters in unhygienic conditions means that illness spreads rapidly, particularly among young children."
Some slum areas lack health clinics. Others get scant services from mobile ones. They're unable to address gynecological, pre and post-natal, and other specialized medical needs.
As a result, Afghanistan's infant mortality rate is one of the world's highest at 129 per 1,000, according to Afghan Ministry of Public Health data. Moreover, pre-age five mortality is 191 per 1,000.
Afghans also endure extreme poverty, unemployment, and deprivation in virtually all aspects of their lives. They constantly worry about getting enough food it eat, forced evictions, lack of vital services, and occupation related violence.
"Afghanistan's human development indicators - in categories such as health, education and income - are below the regional average (and) among the world's worst-off countries."
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