People have resorted to cutting down trees for fuel, leading to large-scale deforestation. Agriculture suffers from soil exhaustion due to monoculture and over-dependence on chemical fertilizers. To augment food production, farming has expanded to ever steeper hillsides, increasing soil erosion. Trucks, tractors, and farm machinery stand idle for lack of spare parts. Transport by road is hampered by poor road conditions and vehicle breakdowns.
Rail transport is unreliable due to erratic electrical power supplies.
Domestic production of medicines and vaccines has all but ceased. Treatment and distribution of clean water has not kept up with population needs. Energy outages and leaking pipes result in recontamination of treated water. A nutritional survey carried out in 1998 established that 62 percent of children under seven years are stunted in their growth, a sign of long-term malnutrition. This is the highest percentage in Asia, except for India and Bangladesh.