4.7 - Household shocks and community preferences 109

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.