According to the Government of Afghanistan, there are more than 840,000 persons with disabilities living in Afghanistan. With a long history of war, many of these disabilities are the result of war related injury. In order to provide access to income security for persons with war related disabilities, the Government of Afghanistan introduced the civil survivor’s and military survivor’s pensions, administered by the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyred and Disabled.
The civil survivor’s and military survivor’s pensions are non-contributory schemes that target persons with disabilities due to land mines, or other war-related disabilities, and military personnel disabled during the course of military service. In 2010 the civil survivor’s pension reached more than 41,000 individuals while the military survivor’s pension reached more than 14,000 individuals. Civil survivors are entitled to receive between AFN250 and 500 per month, or USD5 to 10, depending on their level of disability as assessed by the Ministry of Health. The civil survivor’s pension operated at a cost of USD15.5 million in 2010. The level of the military survivor’s pension is calculated based on the length of service and severity of disability. In 2010 the military survivor’s pension operated at a cost of USD8.4 million.
While Afghanistan's social protection floor is in its early stages of development, the State has prioritised the protection of persons with war related disabilities due to the large numbers of persons affected by war. Together the civil survivors and military survivor’s pensions demonstrate a firm commitment to uphold the rights of persons with disabilities, as outlined in Article 53 of the Constitution, which stipulates support for the reintegration of persons with disabilities into society. Nonetheless, further investment in the adequate protection of persons with disabilities is urgently required in order to meet the need for income support of all persons with disabilities that fall under the nationally defined minimum income standard.
Further Reading:
- Asian Development Bank (2012). The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan: Updating and improving the social protection index. Accessed from: http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/76049/44152-012-reg-tacr-01.pdf on February 18 2016.