a million shillings

Across the Horn of Africa, war, abuse and poverty make millions miserable and drive thousands to attempt to flee. With land borders cut off or closed, and surrounded by conflict on all sides, one of the only means of escape is by sea.

running from the taliban

At the beginning of summer 2009, operations in Pakistan by security forces to root out insurgents from the ungoverned areas along the Afghan border have seen upwards of 3 million civilians displaced from their homes as they flee from Taliban and military attacks. In many of the tribal belts, this represents close to two thirds of the population in what has been the world’s largest displacement of people due to conflict since the Rwandan genocide.

maternal mortality

Afghanistan is the worst place in the world for a woman to give birth. In the mountainous province of Badakshan in Afghanistan’s northeast, there are 6,500 deaths for every 100,000 live births. It is the highest rate of maternal mortality in the whole world. Despite UN member states pledging to reduce rates of maternal mortality worldwide by three-quarters as one of the eight millennium goals, the numbers of women dying in Afghanistan only continue to increase.