Housing
96
Figure 9.2 Percentage of the total population with access to safe drinking water, by province
Next to the quality of water, the very access to water is a key factor in the provision of hygiene and adequate living conditions. Overall, for 42 percent of the households immediate access to water with no travel time is available. The
corresponding figures for the urban, rural and Kuchi households are, respectively, 75, 35 and 21 percent. It takes up to half an hour to fetch water return trip for over half of the Kuchi and rural households and for just under one quarter of
the urban households. Around 8 and 4 percent of the, respectively, Kuchi and rural households need more than one hour. The NRVA 20078 figures suggest an improvement compared to the 2005 results, as the overall share that had access
to water within one hour increased from 86 to 97 percent.
3
Sanitation
Safe disposal of human excreta creates the first barrier to excreta-related disease, helping to reduce transmission through direct and indirect – for example, animal and insect – routes. The 20078 NRVA found that 21 percent of the
urban population had access to adequate sanitation facilities, but only 1 percent of the rural population and almost no Kuchis. Overall, access to improved sanitation was 5 percent Table 9.4. These figures would imply a decrease in the
share compared to 2005, when the NRVA reported improved sanitation for 7 percent of the total population.
4
For sanitation purposes some 25 percent of the population use open field or ‘darean’, a place inside or outside the compound used for waste products. For the other types of sanitation combined, 89 percent of the population has access
to sanitation within the compound 99 for urban, 87 for rural and 67 for the Kuchi population and 22 percent shares the sanitation facility with other households.
_____________________________________________ 3
Based on survey months July and August for reasons of comparability with NRVA 2005.
4
A decrease in access to improved sanitation is difficult to explain. Seasonal and methodological effects are not in order, although fast population growth could have some impact.
Housing
97
9.3.2 Other facilities Electricity
The access to the public electric grid at national level is 20 percent ranging from 78 percent in urban areas to 6 percent in rural areas, an increase from 14 percent in 2005. It is by far the most important source of electricity. Other supply
is provided by community generators to 15 percent of households, private generators 5 percent and a combination of other sources 3 percent. Overall, 42 percent of the population has access to any source of electricity 90 and 33
percent in urban and rural areas, respectively, which would imply an large increase from the 23 percent reported in 2005. However, it should be noted that the daily number of hours of electricity supply is limited: on average 11 hours per
day by the electric grid and lower numbers for each of the alternative sources. Access to electricity for Kuchis is very limited 6 percent due to their nomadic lifestyle.
Fuel for cooking and heating
The use of solid fuels for heating and cooking in homes usually results in incomplete combustion and hence in the emission of hundreds of
compounds, some of which may induce cancer and other health problems. It also produces greenhouse gases that contribute to global
climate change. The nature of the exposure to indoor air pollution and its consequences for health depends on the interactions between the source
of pollution fuel and stove type, its dispersion housing structure and ventilation and when household members are in the home. The type of
fuel used in cooking has consistently been the most important predictor of this exposure United Nations 2003. The proportion of population using solid fuels is included as indicator for Target
9 – sustainable development and reversion of the loss of environmental resources – has recently been removed from the international list of MDG indicators. However, it still figures in the Afghanistan National Development Strategy.
In Afghanistan, 83 percent of the population relies on solid fuels, mainly firewood, bushes and twigs 59 percent, and animal dung 23 percent. The impact on health may be considerable since in 48 percent of households cooking occurs
inside the dwelling. The present share is comparable to the one in 2005, when the dependency on solid fuels was around 85 percent. According to the NRVA 20078, the percentage of the population using solid fuels for heating in winter time
is even 98 percent.
Information and communication means
Modern information and communication technologies are important instruments in the process of development. Telephones, computers and internet allow people to exchange experiences and learn from each other, enabling higher
returns on investment and avoiding problems of duplication or missing information. They can also help people in rural areas to find out about market prices and sell their products at a better price, and can overcome traditional barriers
to better education by making books and documentation available online. They can also make governments more transparent, thereby reducing corruption and leading to better governance. The use of these technologies is included as
MDG indicators see Boxes on MDG indicators 8.14-8.16.
MDG Indicator 7.8: Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban and rural
According to UN guidelines, the following types of water supply are considered ‘improved’: piped water, public tap, borehole or pump,
protected well, protected spring or rainwater. They do not include vendor-provided water, bottled water, tanker trucks or unprotected
wells and springs. NRVA-based calculation of the MDG indicator 7.8 for Afghanistan
suggests 58, 20 and 16 percent access to improved water for, respectively urban, rural and Kuchi populations, and 27 percent
overall. According to UN estimates, the latter would imply that Afghanistan has the worst provision of safe drinking water in the
world.
MDG Indicator 7.9: Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural
Facilities such as sewers or septic tanks, poor-flush latrines and simple pit or ventilated improved pit latrines are assumed to be
adequate sanitation, provided that they are not public. In Afghanistan, only in urban areas a recognizable share of the
population – 21 percent – has access to such facilities. Improved sanitation in urban areas and for the Kuchi population are
virtually non-existing one percent or less access to improved sanitation.
The indicator of 5 percent overall access to improved sanitation ranks Afghanistan second last in the UN list of estimates.
MDG Indicator 29: Proportion of population using solid fuels
The indicator refers to the population that relies on biomass wood, charcoal, crop residues and
dung or coal as the primary source of energy for cooking and heating in the home.
In Afghanistan, 83 percent of the population uses solid fuels as the main source for cooking.
