ICRC

By Monica Campbell,

Kabul - On a chilly morning, Maimoona, a 41-year-old Afghan nurse, headed down a muddy path on a hill overlooking Kabul. It was a poor neighborhood. Tiny houses clung to the rocky terrain. There were stray dogs and men pushing wheelbarrows filled with plastic bottles for recycling. 

For Maimoona, who stood out in her professional dress, a purple wool skirt and blazer, it was the start of a typical day. For nearly a decade, she has spent her days traveling to the outskirts of Kabul, to homes in the city’s poorest areas, to treat people left immobile because of spinal cord injuries. “They are the most vulnerable,” Maimoona said. “Not only is it tough to live in Afghanistan. But imagine being paraplegic in a place like this, up a hill without basic services. These people could easily be forgotten.” 

Our colleagues in Kabul and Geneva published an operational update yesterday. In summary, the humanitarian outlook for Afghanistan in 2012 is bleak.

The country today has better infrastructure and greater access to global markets, services and communications, especially in urban areas. But the lack of security is still a major problem in many rural areas, and communities in conflict-affected regions remain highly vulnerable.