Key Findings and Recommendations
The NRVA 2005 was the second national exercise in data collection on risk and vulnerability factors that affect the Afghan population. The main objective of NRVA 2005 was to gather information to update and guide policy-making decisions in development programmes and to improve the efficacy of sectoral interventions. Between June and August of 2005, a national survey was carried out with a sample of 30,822 households in 34 provinces (1,735 Kuchi, 23,220 rural and 5,867 urban).
Data shows that the female to male ratio starts to decline above 24 years of age. There are higher mortality rates for women above 24 years of age compared to those rates of men in the same age groups. This appears to be related to the cumulative effect of disadvantageous conditions for women; such as lack of health facilities and practices, poor nutrition and frequency of marriages of girls under 15 years of age. In contrast to its neighbours, Afghanistan presents a gender gap that favours male survivals. This situation prevails, even after years of war in which male mortality would typically be higher than female mortality. Access to education, provision of health facilities and professional attention in rural areas deserve a high priority to rectify this situation. A demographic and public health study should assess these findings as soon as possible.
Surprisingly, only 2% of the rural and urban households reported having disputes about property rights. Further investigation is required to clarify this finding considering that contested property rights are expected in post-conflicts. Clear property rights are necessary, but not sufficient by themselves, for sustainable resource management.
Seventy-three percent of the households in Afghanistan perceive that they are in a comparable or worse situation with respect to one year prior to the survey. Twentyfour percent perceive being slightly better off and only 2% perceive a clear improvement. The urban households had 5% to 6% more optimistic perceptions compared to rural and Kuchi households, respectively.
Forty-four percent of the Afghan households perceive themselves as food insecure to different degrees, 28% of the urban households perceive themselves to be food insecure while in contrast, 40% of the Kuchi households and 48% of the rural households perceive this condition. These perceptions are in agreement with other findings. Out of the largest loans granted to the households during the year prior to the survey, 45% of the urban households used them to purchase food, and about 65% of both Kuchi and rural households also used them to cope with food insecurity. Further research is recommended to assess food insecurity and vulnerability of different groups and locations.
Fifty percent of the participating households in cash for work programmes in Uruzgan acquired income generating skills and to a lesser extent in Balkh, Kandahar, Takhar and Nangarhar. These cases, clearly aimed towards financial sustainability, could be extended or intensified.
Further work is required to assess the rural-urban, rural-Kuchi, and urban-Kuchi gap in terms of intake and quality of diet. The gap between urban vis-à-vis Kuchi and rural households is dramatic: more than 53% for maternal health, more than 36% in access to safe drinking water and more than 25% in improved sanitation. This does not mean that urban well-being should be taken for granted, but these gaps, and others estimated in the report, should be used to prioritize development actions.