The importance of book distribution in Afghanistan

The ability of citizens to access printed materials is critical to the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, Nancy Hatch Dupree writes in an op-ed in the July 19 edition of The New York Times.

Dupree, the director of the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University, argues that a lack of access has undermined health care, education, and democratic governance. Without written materials, she writes, patients are unable to reacquaint themselves with the instructions of community health workers; students are unable to read about relevant subjects; all citizens are unable to obtain basic information on the democratic process.

Dupree, whose Center has “placed more than 100,000 books in 160 libraries in 32 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces,” says that the Afghan government and foreign donors need to support efforts to develop and distribute books and other printed materials.

For the full piece, click here.