UN: Decades of conflict leave Afghanistan with high disability rates

Nearly one in four Afghans is living with a disability, the United Nations said on Wednesday, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, urging greater support for a population shaped by decades of war and crisis.

According to UN data, 24.6% of Afghans live with mild disabilities, 40% with moderate and 13.9% with severe disabilities — among the highest rates in the region.

Decades of conflict, displacement, drought and weak health and economic systems have driven these numbers, leaving many Afghans with lifelong injuries or untreated conditions.

But behind each statistic is a person, the UN said, "someone who is not only navigating their own challenges but is often a vital source of support for their families and communities." Their daily life reflects the long-term human cost of war, it said.

Afghanistan's disability crisis is rooted in nearly half a century of violence — beginning with the 1979 Soviet invasion, followed by brutal civil wars in the 1990s, and later the two-decade US invasion of the country — leaving generations exposed to injury, trauma and shattered health systems.