Children’s Health Literacy in Afghanistan: Making the Silent Issues Accessible and Promotable?

Adequate health literacy is important for all people worldwide, including Afghans. While quantitative studies have found that health literacy is limited in the least developed and low-income countries, these studies have rarely examined health literacy as a social practice and the development of health literacy in its context. The notion of health literacy as an individual skill, detached from its social context, falls short for children and in community-oriented societies such as Afghanistan. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the current state of health literacy in Afghanistan based on our qualitative study of community-based health promotion approaches and our quantitative study of health literacy in Afghanistan. In addition to providing important information about the context of health literacy and health literacy interventions in Afghanistan, we address child-specific health literacy, decision-making, and approaches to promote health literacy. Throughout, we embed findings in the unique topographic, political, social, and cultural context. This chapter broadens our perspective on the “nature” of health literacy and allows us to ask critical questions and draw conclusions.