Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
ECO DCCU Country profile 2004
Basic Country Facts
Geography/topography
Afghanistan is situated in the central and northwestern part of Central Asia. The total area of the country is 647,500 square kilometers. Afghanistan is landlocked and surrounded by Uzbekistan (137 km) and Tajikistan in the north (1,206 km), China (76 km) in the northeast, Turkmenistan (744 km) in the northwest, Pakistan (2,430 km) in east and south and Iran (936 km) in west. Afghanistan has no coastline or water on its territory.
Demographics and Human Development Index indicators
Population (2005): 29.9 million
GDP per capita (PPP, 2003): 237 $
Population under 15 years (2005): 44.7%
Human Development Index value (2003): N/A
Illicit Drug Trends
Supply Side Trends: Cultivation, Production, Supply and Trafficking
Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium poppies, used to make heroin. During the 1990s Afghanistan became the main producer of opium and accounted for 76 percent of the world's illicit opium production. During the years 1998-2003, opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has increased by 16%. Despite the new government's ban on the cultivation of poppies, the annual opium crop expanded to 30,750 hectares in 2002 and has rocketed from 185 metric tons (mt) in 2001 when the Taliban cracked down on it, to 3,400 mt last in 2002. While lower than the record of 4,600 mt in 1999, the world heroin production rebounded last year, 2002 and approximately 3,400 tons of opium are believed to have been harvested in Afghanistan.
The large-scale of poppy cultivation is believed to have resumed after the fall of the Taliban regime. The rapid growth of opium production in Afghanistan has fuelled the development of a large heroin market in the region and further in Central Asia, the Russian Federation and the East Europe.
According to a survey carried out jointly by Afghan Counter Narcotics Directorate (CND) and UNODC in 2003, significant decreases were reported in the major centers of poppy cultivation, i.e. Helmand, Kandahar, Nangarhar and Uruzgan. However, poppy cultivation was seen for the first time in some districts and provinces such as Ghor, Bamiyan, Wardak and Khost. 30% of the families grew poppy in the poppy growing districts.
Cannabis grows wild and is also cultivated in Afghanistan. The extent of the illicit cannabis cultivation is not known but is assumed to be considerable. Afghanistan is a major producer of cannabis, much of which is processed into hashish.
The heroin processing laboratories in Badakhshan, Nangarhar and Helmand are reported to be numerous and highly mobile, thereby making detection and destruction more difficult.
It is estimated that 80-90% of the heroin consumed in Europe comes from Afghan opium. Afghanistan is landlocked and drug traffickers rely on land routes to move the drugs out of the country. The morphine base and heroin are trafficked through Pakistan to Iran or directly to Iran and then into Turkey destined for Europe.
The military operations in the south and east of Afghanistan have caused the traffickers to concentrate their activities in the north of the country. Due to the limited border controls with Central Asian countries, the northern route, through Central Asian countries to Russia and then final destination to Europe, has gained great importance. As a result, drug trafficking and abuse have started to increase in Central Asian countries.
Demand Side Trends: Drug Abuse and Related Problems
Drug abuse is on the rise but the estimation of the number of drug abusers is difficult. Heroin, opium and hashish are the most commonly abused drugs, along with pharmaceutical drugs for which no prescription is required. Reportedly heroin addiction is a growing problem in the cities of Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar and Herat, and the only hospital providing limited treatment is in Kabul. In Kabul, it is estimated that there are over 700 heroin addicts but this figure is disputed by doctors who believe it is much higher. Though hashish smoking is still widespread, many drug users have switched to opium and heroin as its smell makes it harder to detect.
While most drug abusers are male, there is a reported rise among females, particularly refugees. A study among Afghan refugee women reported many of them were poly drug users using a daily combination of opium and pharmaceuticals and more than 20% of them were over the age of 50. Almost all the women started abusing these drugs to self medicate a range of physical and mental health problems and the result was drug addiction.
The abuse of pharmaceuticals is often linked with the use of other drugs such as heroin, opium and hashish. A study among Afghan refugees attending a drug treatment center in Peshawar (Pakistan) reported that over 52% of the 231 patients took 4 to 6 tablets per day of analgesics and/or tranquillizers.
While intravenous drug use (IDU) is not widely practiced in Afghanistan, a substantial number of hypodermic needles are found in the country. A decrease in availability and/or an increase in price could lead to high-risk activity among those who do not currently inject. To date, ten cases of HIV/AIDS inside Afghanistan have been reported to the World Health Organization. Though the information on HIV/AIDS from Afghanistan is scant, the vulnerability factors indicate the possibility of fast spread of the epidemic if preventive efforts are not taken immediately. The extremely low socio-political and economic status of women, huge numbers of people displaced internally and externally, the extremely poor social and public health infrastructure, drug trafficking, use of injecting drugs and lack of blood safety practices have been identified as factors that could fuel the epidemic. Recent studies report that in some areas in Central Asia, including in Afghanistan, as many as 80% of those persons who have contracted HIV are drug injectors, and at least half of those drug injectors infected with HIV are below the age of 30.
Counter-efforts
Domestic Drug Control Framework
During 2002, the Afghanistan Interim Authority (AIA), followed by the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan Government (TISA), took several important first steps to control its enormous drug problem. On January 17, 2002, President Karzai issued a decree banning cultivation, production, processing, illicit trafficking, and abuse of narcotics drugs. He issued further decrees in September and October, which designated Afghanistan’s National Security Council (NSC) as the body responsible for drug control, established within the NSC a Counter Narcotics Department (CND).
In 2003, the National Drug Control Strategy which was jointly drafted by National Security Council (NSC), UK and UNODC was approved by President Karzai. Besides, a commission, consisted of National Security Council (NSC), Ministry of Justice and UNODC, was set up to draft drug control law and charter of CND.
Countering Cultivation, Production, Supply and Trafficking
On April 3, 2002, the AIA issued an executive order to eradicate opium poppy fields in the country, with compensation being paid to farmers who eradicated. The UK-supported eradication process started on April 8, 2002, in Helmand and Nangarhar Provinces. Approximately 16,500 hectares were eradicated. On September 4, 2002, as the season for planting poppy for the 2003 harvest approached, President Karzai issued another very strong declaration urging farmers not to plant poppy. In addition, the TISA sought support from the provincial governors and religious leaders for implementing the poppy ban. As a result, the poppy cultivation in Afghanistan was reduced substantially from the record levels of the late 1990s.
The United States and the international community are working together to provide additional assistance in the areas of alternative development, institution building, training of the Afghan National Army and National Police Force as well as justice sector reform and rebuilding.
Alternative livelihoods assistance is beginning to be evident in poppy areas and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development is playing a strong role in coordinating assistance in this area. The U.S. provided $14 million during 2002 in “Cash for Work” Programs with a direct and immediate benefit for the rural economy.
In the first half of 2003, nearly 50000 kg of hashish, 4500 kg of opium and 1000 kg of heroin were seized and almost 140000 hectares of poppy and cannabis fields were eradicated.
Demand Reduction and Rehabilitation
The Afghan government struggles with its limited resources to provide in-hospital detoxification services but often can provide no analgesics to ease the withdrawal symptoms. The NGOs also work hard with their limited resources to raise public awareness. For example, Nejat, an NGO operating on extremely limited funding, provides pre-detoxification counseling, in-home detoxification, and a year’s support to the drug abuser and family members.
In 2003, CND held working group meetings with different organizations and NGOs on drug demand reduction. Some of the Afghan officers attended training programs on demand reduction outside the country. Anti drug campaigns were launched in some of schools in Kabul.
International Cooperation
Afghanistan is a party to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. Afghanistan intends to become a party to the 1972 Protocol to the 1961 Convention as soon as possible.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is helping Afghanistan to break a decade-long dependence on opium-poppy cultivation. In close coordination with the country's Transitional Government and with the overall United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the UNODC is implementing a broad range of projects aimed at strengthening Afghanistan's drug-control and crime-prevention capacity.
Sources and Publications used in preparing this profile:
q Global Illicit Drug Trends, UNODC 2003
q Global Illicit Drug Trends, UNODC 2002
q Country profiles at UNODC website
q Annual Report INCB 2002
q US State Department INCSR 2002 Report
q Monthly Reports-2003 NSC-CND Afghanistan