Photo stories: Afghanistan at the crossroads

Women in the Sangtakht district of Dai Kundi province gather bundles of kindling to heat their homes in preparation for winter. The World Bank is the largest single source of international funds for microfinance projects, key to promoting the rural economy and improving rural life. Sixty-two percent of clients are women; the loan repayment rate is 95 percent. November 2007. UN Photo/Muzaffar Ali

A large-scale voluntary return programme for Afghan refugees from Pakistan and Iran began in 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, and 4.4 million Afghans have returned home to date. Last year, 280,000 refugees repatriated under the initiative, and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) predicts that some 220,000 others may opt to return in 2009. September 2008. UNHCR/R. Arnold

Afghan men work on road construction under the auspices of a World Food Programme (WFP) food-for-work project. With increasing food shortages and chronic disruption of agricultural production due to the ongoing conflict, WFP plans to distribute over 300,000 tons of food to nearly 9 million Afghans this year. Badakhshan, Afghanistan, June 2009. UN Photo/WFP

Afghan school children attend class with the support of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Chronic insecurity and renewed violence, especially in rural areas, continue to impede recovery from decades of war, and limit progress for the country’s 25 million people, particularly its children and women. Kabul, 2009. UN Photo/Fardin Waez

A health officer of the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan reviews a medical file of a pediatric patient in one of the more than 100 hospitals across Afghanistan, where the doctor-to-patient ratio is 1 to 10, 000 and some 40 to 60 percent of Afghan children are chronically malnourished. June 2009. UN Photo/Fardin Waez

Kai Eide (centre), Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), inspects polling material at the warehouse of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission. Nearly 17 million ballot papers and 100,000 ballot boxes have been safely delivered across the country in advance of Election Day, 20 August. Kabul. July 2009. UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein

A scene from the Palwasha TV series (2007) addressed violence against women in Afghanistan. According to the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), 82 per cent of such incidents may be traced to family members. A law is being considered by the Afghan Parliament, one-quarter of whom are women, to deal with this phenomenon – but threats, rape and violence continue to rise. UN Photo/Jawad Jalali

Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomes UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Presidential palace in Kabul. Mr. Ban made a “surprise” stop in Afghanistan on 4 February 2009, pledging UN support for development and the consolidation of peace and stability in the strife-torn nation, as well as for preparations for presidential and regional elections scheduled for 20 August. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan continues to take a heavy toll on the country’s civilians, with over 1,000 deaths in the first half of 2009 – 24 per cent more than during the same period last year, according to UNAMA. A UN Security Council mission arrives in Herat, Afghanistan as part of a visit to assess the humanitarian situation and progress with nation-building. November 2008. UN Photo

Afghan boys play football in front of the archaeological remains of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, listed as a World Heritage Site by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. UNESCO has proposed to protect and restore this cultural site. Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan. May 2009. UN Photo/Fardin Waezi