Microsoft Word - AMICS-29Jan2013 - Childinfo.org

Percentage of children under age 5 left alone or left in the care of another child younger than 10 years of age for more than one hour at
least once during the past week, Afghanistan, 2010-2011
Left alone in the
past week
Percentage of children under age 5
Left in the care of
another child younger
than 10 years of age in
the past week
Left with inadequate
care in the past week 1
Number of children under age 5
North 24.4 38.0 42.3 2,087
North East 23.3 29.6 33.8 2,464
South 34.8 30.1 38.2 1,774
South East 64.8 67.5 75.3 2,308
West 25.2 26.9 32.6 1,825
Residence
Age
Urban 18.9 19.7 25.7 2,398
Rural 33.7 36.7 43.0 12,474
0-23 months 20.4 23.2 28.5 4,741
24-59 months 36.5 39.0 45.7 10,131
Mother s education*
None 32.5 35.3 41.6 13,532
Primary 19.5 20.7 26.6 698
Secondary + 20.6 18.0 26.4 634
Wealth index quintiles
Poorest 34.1 36.6 43.3 3,101
Second 34.1 35.9 42.4 3,190
Middle 35.6 39.1 45.5 3,015
Fourth 30.3 35.3 40.5 2,983
Richest 20.9 20.7 27.3 2,583
Total 31.4 33.9 40.2 14,872
* MICS indicator 6.5
Table 9.4 shows that 34% of children aged 0-59 months were left in the care of other
children, while 31% were left alone during the week preceding the interview. Combining the
two care indicators, it is calculated that 40% of children were left with inadequate care
during the week preceding the survey, either by being left alone or in the care of another
child. Some differences were observed by the sex of the child (42% for boys and 39% for
girls), and greater differences are found between urban (26%) and rural areas (43%).
Inadequate care was found to be most prevalent among children whose mothers had no
education (42%), compared to mothers with at least primary education (27%). Children aged
24-59 months were left with inadequate care more frequently (46%) than children who
were aged 0-23 months (29%). Major variances can be found in regard to the socioeconomic
status of the household and by region. More than 27% of children living in the wealthiest
households were left with inadequate care, while the figure is highest among children living
in the middle socio-economic level of households (46%). Children under the age of five
years were left with inadequate care most frequently in the South Eastern region (75%), as
compared to the lowest figure, which was in the Central region (21%).
Assessing Early Child Development in Afghanistan
Within households, a majority of children have adults engaging in activities with them, and
most households have play items in the home, conditions that help stimulate cognitive
development and social interactions. However, access to books in the home is extremely
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