“There are a lot of children in Afghanistan, but little childhood”, is a quote from the first Afghan novel to be written in English—Kite Runner, which depicts a heartbreaking story, against the backdrop of tumultuous events involving the fall of the Afghan monarchy, the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the USA, as well as the rise and fall of the Taliban regime after the US-led military attack. Yet, the real facts about Afghanistan might be even more staggering than the plot of this novel. According to a UNICEF fact sheet released last month, Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places for a pregnant woman or a child to be born. Afghanistan has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world, with 1400 women out of every 100 000 livebirths dying of a complication related to pregnancy or childbirth, while its mortality rate for children younger than 5 years is ranked second in the world, with 199 deaths per 1000 livebirths. Even if a child is lucky enough to survive birth, he or she could only expect to live 44 years, while the life expectancy at birth of the world overall is 67·2 years for 2005—10. Today, although Afghanistan continues to be plagued by insurgency and violence, it is on the road to reconstruction with the aid of the international community.
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