Poverty, corruption, and armed conflict hinder Afghans’ access to health care, says UN

An estimated nine million Afghans, about 36% of the population, are living in absolute poverty, and the situation is exacerbated daily by widespread corruption and insecurity because of the armed conflict, a United Nations report says. The problems are impeding efforts to meet basic needs and to provide services, including access to health care, it adds.

The study, published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, says that despite the injection of about $35bn (£23bn; €26bn) in international aid by donors since 2002, key indicators of development show that a reduction in the level of poverty has had little effect …