Asian Development Bank Doing Study, Not Much Known About Poverty In Afghanistan

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Paul Icamina - AHN News Writer

Kabul, Afghanistan (AHN) - Afghanistan is the world's fourth poorest or most deprived country. But surprisingly little is known about poverty and how it impacts on the population, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a recent statement. One of the reasons so little is known about the country's population is because no census has been done in the last 30 years, ADB officials said.

The estimate is that there are 30 million people in Afghanistan. However, more than one million Afghans still seek refuge in neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

A pilot participatory project funded by the ADB Management for Development Results Cooperation Fund is currently assessing poverty in the impoverished nation, the poorest country in the entire Asia-Pacific region, according to the Afghanistan 2007 Human Development Report.

Discussions have been held with men and women in eight communities in four of Afghanistan's 34 provinces - both rural and urban communities in Badakhshan, Herat, Nangarhar, and Uruzgan provinces

The results will help guide the government of Afghanistan and the international community in the finalization of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS), the road map for the country's continued reconstruction and development, that is expected to be completed by March.