Kabul’s drug den
On the outskirts of Kabul, a sprawling bombed-out building that was once a centre for culture and science is now home to over 100 drug addicts.
Afghanistan, the world's biggest heroin producer, produced some 8,200 tons of opium in 2007, or 93 percent of the world's supply, and is struggling to cope as thousands of Afghans have become addicted to narcotics.
According to the United Nations, illegal drug addiction rates in Afghanistan have doubled in the past two years. Nearly a million people are believed to be using illegal drugs, including more than 150,000 opium users and 50,000 heroin addicts.
Portraits of mentally ill patients in Afghanistan
As the country's long-lasting war takes its toll, over half of the Afghan population is believed to be suffering from some form of mental affliction from anxiety to severe depression, according to government officials.
Mental illness is not well understood in the country, and Afghans often place their hopes in God to cure such problems. At the Mia Ali Saeb Shrine in Samar Khel, mentally ill patients are chained to the wall of the cell for 40 days and receive a daily ration of only bread, black pepper and water.
