A survey by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reveals that people with disabilities make up at least 14% of the country’s population and the number has increased by 11% in the last 14 years.  

The survey indicates that there are 4.4 million (4,475,800) people with disabilities, and the main cause is war.  

The head of the commission, Sharzad Akbar, called on the warring sides to end violence and to prevent the people from further sacrifice.  

“The reason for the disability, based on 627 interviews (41.7%), has been fighting and roadside bombings,” said Benafsha Yaqubi, a member of the commission.  

Yaqubi stated that 18 of the interviewees (1.2%) were disabled due to the misuse of medicines, 29 (1.9%) were due to traffic incidents, 72 (4.8%) were caused by lack of safety measures in their personal life, 22 (1.5%) were due to lack of safety measures at work, 60 (4%) were due to lack of vaccination and 32 (2.1%) were due to lack of health facilities to deal with problems during pregnancy. 

The reasons for 642 (42.8%) disabilities was unknown, the findings have shown. 

“This research shows that the number of people with disabilities has increased by 11.1% and this requires thorough attention in terms of human rights,” said Ali Mujtaba, the head of the disabled children’s support department of the commission.  

The commission interviewed 1,504 people with disabilities in 22 provinces.  

Of this, 42 were faced with a physical disability, 294 had a sensory disability, 42 had disabilities due to diseases, and 68 had psychological disability.  

“Disability is increasing in Afghanistan due to fighting and violence,” Akbar said.

The survey shows that lack of access to education, health service and disabilities rights are big problems for people with disability.