KABUL - A new survey released on Wednesday said there has been a 33 percent decrease in mortality rate among infants as compared to 2007's deaths in Afghanistan.
The survey was conducted by the Central Statistics Organization (CSO), with technical and financial support from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the country's 34 provinces last year, CSO operations branch chief Mohammad Sami Nabil told reporters in Kabul.

He said information about health, training and education of women and children and their living conditions had been compiled in the survey.
Nearly 13, 14 people across the country were surveyed in order to capture an overall assessment of women and children's situation, he said.

About 21,300 women aged from 15 to 45 were interviewed, with 92 percent of them expressing satisfaction with their lives despite domestic and other forms of violence, Nabi said.
The Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) says it had registered 39,000 cases of violence against women over the past decade in Afghanistan.

Nabi said the survey showed 74 children, under the age of one, among 1,000 dead, adding the mortality rate was 111 among 1,000 in 2007.
He said the survey revealed 102 children of five years among 1,000 died. However, he did not reveal the death rate in 2007.

The study also contained information about child nutrition problems, saying 31 percent children were born with low weight and another 18 percent having less weight as compared to their height.
It said the problem was common in rural areas and northern parts of the country compared to other zones.

Nabi said the survey indicated improvement in overall situation of women and children with regard to their healthcare, education and training, but expressed concern over some issues.
The study showed only 18 percent children of age one and two years benefited from vaccination campaigns in the country.

The Ministry of Public Health says its vaccination campaigns covered 80 percent of children across the country.
Nabi said that 57 percent of the country's population had access to clean drinking water and the survey found 72 percent people in cities and 51 percent in rural areas had access to clean drinking water.
It also found that 31 percent people in Afghanistan were living in houses where environment protection facilities were available, he said. (Pajhwok)