Afghanistan is world's worst place to be born - UN
source: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN19176443
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GENEVA, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Eight years after a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan, the war-ravaged state is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born, the United Nations said on Thursday.
It is especially dangerous for girls, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in launching its annual flagship report, The State of the World's Children.
Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world -- 257 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean water, the agency said.
As Taliban insurgents increase their presence across the country, growing insecurity is also making it hard to carry out vital vaccination campaigns against polio, a crippling disease still endemic in the country, and measles that can kill children.
"Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born," Daniel Toole, UNICEF regional director for South Asia, told a news briefing in Geneva.
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Some 317 schools in Afghanistan were attacked in the past year, killing 124 and wounding another 290, Toole said.
"We have seen a drop in the number of children who are attending schools and particularly young girls," he added.
School enrollment in Afghanistan had risen to 5 million, including 2 million girls, against 1 million with virtually no girls in 2001 when the Taliban were ousted from power, he said.
"In both countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, we've made some progress but we're starting to worry about back-tracking on that progress given the high rates of insecurity and the ongoing conflict," Toole said.
"The most dramatic indication of back-tracking is the deliberate attacks against girls' schools," he added.
It is especially dangerous for girls, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in launching its annual flagship report, The State of the World's Children.
Afghanistan has the highest infant mortality rate in the world -- 257 deaths per 1,000 live births, and 70 percent of the population lacks access to clean water, the agency said.
As Taliban insurgents increase their presence across the country, growing insecurity is also making it hard to carry out vital vaccination campaigns against polio, a crippling disease still endemic in the country, and measles that can kill children.
"Afghanistan today is without a doubt the most dangerous place to be born," Daniel Toole, UNICEF regional director for South Asia, told a news briefing in Geneva.
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Some 317 schools in Afghanistan were attacked in the past year, killing 124 and wounding another 290, Toole said.
"We have seen a drop in the number of children who are attending schools and particularly young girls," he added.
School enrollment in Afghanistan had risen to 5 million, including 2 million girls, against 1 million with virtually no girls in 2001 when the Taliban were ousted from power, he said.
"In both countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, we've made some progress but we're starting to worry about back-tracking on that progress given the high rates of insecurity and the ongoing conflict," Toole said.
"The most dramatic indication of back-tracking is the deliberate attacks against girls' schools," he added.
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