The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with the Afghan Ministries of Women's Affairs, Health and Education to launch a program teaching young adults in 13 provinces to read and write, while instructing them in how to improve their family's health and hygiene.

According to a February 19 press release from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the "Learning for Life" program is being supported by $4.9 million from the U.S. government.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said, "Learning for Life" will raise Afghan literacy rates and health training and will help reduce high maternal and child mortality rates.

The maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the world, and one in four children die before the age of five, with 40 percent of those deaths attributable to treatable illnesses, the press release said.

The ambassador said the Bush administration is already engaged in projects to help Afghan children and teachers return to school and to improve the country's health services. "The launching of this health-focused literacy program -- "Learning for Life" - is one more step in the right direction," he said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 19, 2004

Afghanistan and United States Launch Unique Health-focused Literacy Program

Kabul, Afghanistan -- The governments of Afghanistan and the United States today announced the launch of a health-focused literacy program, targeted at simultaneously raising literacy rates and health care training across the country.

The Ministries of Women's Affairs, Health and Education and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will work together to implement the "Learning for Life" program. It will teach young adults living in 13 provinces to read and write and instruct them in improving their family's health and hygiene. The U.S. government provided $4.9 million to support the program.

Speaking today at Afghanistan's Institute of Health Science, U.S. Ambassador and Special Presidential Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said, "Twenty-three years of conflict, exacerbated by severe repression under the Taliban, decimated the education system and denied young women a basic human right."

He called Afghanistan's literacy rates "appalling," noting that in many rural areas only 4-5% of all women are considered literate. He said that the health situation is even more alarming with a virtually nonexistent preventative health care system. The maternal mortality rate is among the worst in the world, and one in four children die before the age of five, with 40 percent of those deaths attributable to treatable illnesses.

"Working with the government of Afghanistan, we are determined to change this." Khalilzad said. "Through intensive programs that provide quality education and training, we are already helping the children and teachers of Afghanistan to return to school. We have begun building and rehabilitating both schools and clinics throughout the country, begun training community health workers and midwives and have launched social marketing campaigns to emphasize disease prevention. The launching of this health-focused literacy program -- "Learning for Life" - is one more step in the right direction."