Afghanistan: When Pollution Becomes an Economy of Illness

Sep 20, 2026 | Kazim Homayoun
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Suppose one day we are asked what the greatest hidden cost of poverty, war, weak governance, and “unregulated development” in Afghanistan is; the answer should not be sought only in ruined roads, collapsed buildings, and destroyed infrastructure. Part of this cost has accumulated more quietly: in people’s lungs, in polluted water, in soil, in food, in workers’ workplaces, and ultimately in the human body. Unfortunately, our country is facing a rise in various types of non-communicable diseases, and cancer is one of the most concerning aspects of this. Estimates by GLOBOCAN, affiliated with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), put the number of new cancer cases in the country at around 24,000 for 2022, with nearly 17,000 deaths resulting from it. These figures are estimates, not complete records. In a country where diagnosis, disease registration, and access to treatment remain limited in many areas, the reality could be far more severe than these numbers suggest.