UNESCO and the Government of Afghanistan recently launched a major project to boost literacy throughout the troubled nation, which suffers one of the world’s lowest literacy rates. The Literacy and Non-formal Education Development in Afghanistan project (LAND AFGHAN) will focus on building up a nationwide network of literacy teachers, trained in modern, non-formal education methods. It will also train people in the development and production of teaching materials, and provide the necessary equipment. UNESCO notes that existing literacy resources, developed by the Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre (ACCU) in Japan and the organisation’s Bangkok office, will also be adapted and translated into Aghanistan’s dominant Pashtu and Dari languages. A second phase of the project plans to establish community learning centres in Kabul and other towns and cities, in order to provide broad access to these literacy programs. It is estimated that only 51.9% of Afghan men above the age of 15 and only 21.9% of women in the same age group can read and write. While efforts are underway to rebuild the country’s education system and get Afghan children back to school, UNESCO notes that the skill-base of the adult population has been severely affected by more than two decades of war. In fact, the organisation contends that Afghanistan is left with few qualified workers and professionals: most having either fled the country or been killed during the conflict. Under the rule of the Taliban, women were not allowed to work and girls were forbidden from attending school. The new literacy project is initially financed by a US$500,000 contribution from the Japanese Government, through a funds-in-trust. It is considered a flagship project for the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012), which will be officially launched at UN Headquarters in New York on February 13.