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HOUSING AND HOUSEHOLD AMENITIES
Table 10.2: Households, by residence, and by number of rooms in the dwelling in percentages; also stating occupancy density indicators
Number of rooms and occupation density indicators
Residence National
Urban Rural
Kuchi
a. Number of rooms in the dwelling
1 13.7
14.5 48.2
16.2 2
34.0 34.7
36.7 34.7
3 23.1
25.0 10.6
23.8 4
15.7 14.9
3.5 14.4
5 5.8
6.1 0.7
5.8 6
3.3 2.7
0.2 2.7
7 or more 4.4
1.9 0.0
2.4 Total
100.0 100.0
100.0 100.0
b. Occupancy density indicators
Mean number of persons per room 3.0
3.1 4.8
3.2 Median number of persons per room
2.7 2.7
4.0 2.7
Percentage overcrowded 33.6
35.5 69.9
37.0
a
Overcrowded dwellings are deined as dwellings with more than 3 persons per room.
Around 42 percent of Afghan households have the preferred kitchen arrangement, that is a separate room within the dwelling. For most households members this helps avoiding intensive exposure to toxic fumes from burning solid fuels,
and at the same time protect those who are cooking – usually women – against rain and cold. The situation is generally best for urban households and worst for Kuchi households, where for the largest part cooking is done out in the open or
within the tent
Table 10.3.
Table 10.3: Households, by location of cooking facility, and by residence in percentages
Residence Inside dwelling
Outside dwelling Other
Total Separate
room Part of
room Separate
room In the
open Urban
59.0 4.9
20.9 7.6
7.6 100.0
Rural 40.1
9.7 32.1
17.4 0.7
100.0 Kuchi
4.3 28.3
7.1 59.1
1.2 100.0
National 42.4
9.6 28.2
17.5 2.3
100.0
10.3 Household amenities 10.3.1 Water and sanitation
Basic hygiene provided by safe drinking water and adequate sanitation are the most effective strategies to improve the health status of the population. There is evidence that globally provision of adequate sanitation services, safe water
supply, and hygiene education represents an effective health intervention that reduces the mortality caused by diarrhoeal disease by an average of 65 percent, and the related morbidity by 26 percent WHO 2001. Provision of safe, convenient
and sustainable water and sanitation services will not only result in reduced morbidity and mortality particularly under-
ive mortality, but also reduce health costs and increase worker productivity, school attendance and overall well-being.
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HOUSING AND HOUSEHOLD AMENITIES
Drinking water The NRVA 2011-12 inventory of community preferences
for development among male and female Shuras emphasized the importance of water supply, as they
assigned it top priority see section 11.4. The household survey recorded that access to improved drinking water
sources
2
is available to 46 percent of the population of Afghanistan. Compared to the results of the NRVA 2007-08 round this indicates a sharp increase of the share of the
population with safe drinking water from 27 to 46 percent. The situation especially improved in rural areas, where the share of the population using improved sources almost doubled between 2007-08 and 2011-12 from 20 to 39 percent. If
this rate of improvement is continued, the ANDS target of 61.5 percent in 2020 will easily be achieved.
Large differences are observed in the share with access between the urban population on the one hand 71 percent and the rural and Kuchi populations on the other 39 and 21 percent, respectively
Table 10.4. Similar differences exist between the provinces, with access ranging from 7 and 9 percent in Urozgan and Zabul to 67 and 78 percent in Balkh
and Kabul Figure 10.2. Close to half the population 49 percent – equivalent to 14.7 million people – relies on surface
water for their main source of water and 28 percent on hand pumps an improved drinking water source. The reliance on piped water improved source is 9 percent overall, but with 26 percent it the most important source in urban areas
data not shown.
Table 10.4: Percentage of households with access to improved sources of drinking water
a
, by residence; Time to reach drinking water source all water sources, by residence
Indicator Residence
National Urban
Rural Kuchi
Percentage of population with access to improved drinking water source
70.9 39.4
21.0 45.5
Time to reach drinking water source one way, in minutes Mean time
1 7
18 6
Median time 3
10 1
a
Improved sources of drinking water include: hand pump private or public, bored wells, protected spring, piped water private or municipal; un-improved sources include: surface water open well,
unprotected spring, kariz, river, lake, channel, pool, drainage, water tanker, bottled water.
The time to reach the main source of drinking water varies signiicantly by residence, and especially for rural households. Overall, Afghan household members – usually women and children – have to walk on average six minutes to reach the
nearest water point and another six minutes to walk back. This average time hides a substantial variation, as 50 percent of the households need only one minute or less and some 11 percent requires half an hour or more for a return trip data
not shown. For urban households, the mean time to reach the water point is only one minute and close to 80 percent has water in or next to the dwelling. The corresponding share of rural households without travel time is half of this 39
percent and for Kuchi only 15 percent.
2 Improved sources of drinking water in NRVA include: hand pump private or public, bored wells, protected spring, piped water private or municipal; un- improved sources include: surface water open well, unprotected spring, kariz, river, lake, channel, pool, drainage, water tanker, bottled water.
MDG Indicator 7.8
Proportion of the population using improved drinking water sources
45.5 percent
