Afghanistan’s children have shown remarkable resilience in the face of war, relying on the support of family and community to deal with the conflict that has plagued the country for more than two decades, according to a joint report by the United Nations Childrens’ Fund and UK-based charity Save the Children.
The children of Afghanistan are much stronger than perhaps many people believe, the report said, and families have found ways of coping in order to protect children, said its main author Jo de Berry.
”Children in Kabul have already identified many ways through which they can deal with their difficulties, and we need to build upon their own achievements,” de Berry wrote.
The study looked at 600 children and their families in Kabul over six months.
After 23 straight years of conflict in Afghanistan, the country has one of the highest rates of infant and child mortality rates, and one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world.
According to the report, children themselves pointed to political repression, displacement, poverty, family separation and tensions, illness, and the loss of education opportunity as their major concerns. – Sapa-DPA