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Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous places in the world for a child to grow up. Many children are engaged in hazardous and illegal work, excluded from education, forced into early marriage, inappropriately placed in institutional care, or trafficked for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. The cumulative effects of war, poverty, and displacement continue to erode community coping mechanisms, and increasing numbers of children are subject to greater and greater risks. Afghanistan ranks among the lowest countries in the world for every indicator of child survival and development…
Poverty, conflict, and other risk factors in Afghanistan contribute to a situation where many families are vulnerable to breakdown. There is a systemic lack of support, diversion, and alternative care services available for these families. Where parents are unable to provide for their children, residential care is the only recourse.
The Department of Orphanages is responsible for the administration of orphanages at the national level and is situated in the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled (MOLSAMD). MOLSAMD sources suggest that there are between six and eleven…
Decades of war, drought, destruction, displacement, and poverty have eroded the traditional family-based safety nets that provide for children when birth families are unable to offer adequate care. There is palpable and growing evidence in Afghanistan that institutional care of children is now the only solution used in situations where families are unable, or unwilling, to care for their children. Care of children in institutions is being used as a response to poverty, unemployment, homelessness, and repatriation.
One of the most serious challenges facing Afghanistan is the need to…