Afghanistan: There's a Massive Water Crisis Looming over Afghanistan

Oct 25, 2016 | Omair Ahmad, Scroll
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Hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are starting the long trek back home after the latest donors’ conference to rebuild Afghanistan. As they do so, much of the commentary is about conflict and their immediate safety, and while that will dominate concerns, the broken infrastructure they return to is generating concerns for the future. In early October, the Afghan Ministry for Energy and Water, in cooperation with the International Water Management Institute, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and thethirdpole.net held the country’s first journalists’ workshop on the Indus Basin. Afghanistan has the worst statistics in the region when it comes to sanitation facilities. Only 32% of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities – in India this stands at 40%, in Nepal it is 46% and in Pakistan it is 64%.