102. Today's Afghanistan

After being here over a period of 13 years, I am always consciously aware of the improvements and development that happens in Afghanistan.  But I am almost always on a daily basis encountering people who deny that anything has changed.  -- They seriously must not leave their homes.   Anyhow, here are some great facts to counter that argument:

• in 2002, only 14% of Afghan women in rural areas had access to skilled birth attendants, but by 2012, 46% did
• adult life expectancy has risen by 22 years
• under-5 mortality has decreased by 62%
• maternal mortality has dramatically decreased to 327 deaths per 1,000 live births
• Since 2002, the Afghan government, USAID, and other partners have trained more than 186,000 teachers, increased primary school enrollment rates to over 50%, and provided 148 million textbooks to Afghan students.

Here is a beautiful video produced by Humans of Kabul that very accurately portrays life for Kabulis today.

Humans of Kabul Video from Humans of Kabul on Vimeo.