KABUL - About 64 percent of Afghan women lack vitamin-D and 40 percent are suffering from anemia,  Minister of Public Health, Firozuddin Firoz, said on Wednesday.

Addressing a gathering on International Women’s Day in Kabul, he said 40 percent of Afghan women suffered from a deficiency of red blood cells and 64 percent lacked vitamin D.

A 2011 survey by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) says 327 in 100,000 expecting mothers lose their lives during childbirth.

The maternal mortality rate was 600 in each 100,000 births in 2004, Firoz recalled, saying 87 percent of women were victims of violence, 17 percent of sexual abuse and 52 percent of beatings.

He added information from his ministry showed 59 percent of Afghan women faced forced marriage and 74 percent suffered mental illness. Violence left a negative impact on women’s social life and mental health, he noted.

But the minister claimed improvement in health services for women and said: “Access to prenatal health services has increased from 10 percent in 2003 to 45 percent in 2013.” (Pajhwok)