Nearly 80 pct of Afghans lack access to drinking water: UNDP

The crisis disproportionately affects female-headed households, which face additional barriers in accessing public water facilities, exacerbating their vulnerability, it added.

About 79 percent of Afghanistan’s population lacks access to potable water, according to a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Afghanistan.

The report released Friday pointed out that the severe drought conditions, economic instability, and the devastating effects of prolonged conflicts have significantly reduced Afghanistan’s water infrastructure.

Afghan children wait to get water in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2024. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

The crisis disproportionately affects female-headed households, which face additional barriers in accessing public water facilities, exacerbating their vulnerability, it added.

The landlocked Afghanistan is grappling with an exacerbated drought. The Afghan caretaker government has been building small dams, water supply networks, and water canals across the country to improve and store groundwater.