Ongoing Conflict Leaves Nearly Half of Children in Afghanistan Out-of-School

(UNICEF) –  Nearly half of children aged between 7 and 17 years old – 3.7 million – in Afghanistan are missing out on school, according to the Out of School Children: Afghanistan Country Study released today. The ongoing conflict and worsening security situation across the country – combined with deeply engrained poverty and discrimination against girls – have pushed the rate of out-of-school children up for the first time since 2002 levels. Girls account for 60 per cent of the out-of-school population, putting them at a particular disadvantage, and compounding gender-based discrimination. In the worse-affected provinces – including Kandahar, Helmand, Wardak, Paktika, Zabul and Uruzgan – up to 85 per cent of girls are not going to school.

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