Woman wearing blue hijab in Afghanistan 2021

Afghanistan

ActionAid has been working in Afghanistan since 2002, supporting women to claim their rights and helping children go to school. Find out more facts and information about Afghanistan and our work.

Humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan deepens

As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan deepens, ActionAid's work to protect the most vulnerable is more urgent than ever.

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Sudipta Kumar, Country Director of ActionAid Afghanistan, says:

"The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is deepening as families rush to urban centres. Thousands of desperate people and orphaned children are arriving in cities like Kabul, Mazar and Herat.
 
"They are in urgent need of humanitarian support. Priorities include food, essential items such as blankets and hygiene kits, and psychosocial support counselling services.

We’re doing everything possible to continue working with the communities we support. However, the situation is changing rapidly. For now, ActionAid’s programmes are continuing and our work to protect the most vulnerable people in Afghanistan is more urgent than ever."

What is happening in Afghanistan?

Following the military withdrawal of the NATO forces from the country, there has been an escalation in tensions which has caused a large number of people to flee their homes and become displaced in their own country.

Many people are travelling from rural areas into urban centres including the major cities of Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-e-Sharif. Because of the sudden development in context, most people left their homes with just the clothes on their back and very few essential items.

As a result, displaced people are in dire need of emergency humanitarian assistance including food, water, and essential items such as hygiene kits, cash, tarpaulins, tents, cooking utensils, clothing, and bedding.

Displaced people are also at an increased risk of exposure to Covid-19.

The current humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan also adds to the pre-existing food insecurity which was ongoing due to restrictions on the economy and household income from COVID-19, ongoing unemployment and escalating food prices. According to IPC1 , nearly 11 million people in Afghanistan are facing acute food insecurity.

What is ActionAid doing to respond?

ActionAid’s work continues to take place in seven provinces across Afghanistan, providing education programming for girls and boys, agriculture and food security.

Wherever there is a humanitarian need we also supplement the programme with essential lifesaving interventions such as food, WASH, hygiene kits, cash grants for restarting livelihood options as well as counselling services to address stress and anxiety.

We hope to support men, women and children with psychosocial and counselling support to address the stress and anxiety around the current situation, in addition to providing non-food items and essential food to those who have been displaced.

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Afghanistan facts

Population: 39.8 million2
Capital: Kabul
Area: 652,860 km²
Official languages: Pashto, Dari
Percentage of the population living below the poverty line: 54.53

Why we work in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. Disasters like recurring droughts, floods, and conflict have left millions of people struggling to survive.

In Afghanistan, 54% of people live below the poverty line, and many living just above the poverty line are highly vulnerable to falling into poverty.4

  • 41%

    41% of children under 5 years old are stunted due to chronic undernutrition.

  • 87%

    87% of women in Afghanistan have experienced domestic abuse.

  • 60%

    60% of girls are not in school in Afghanistan.

Source: https://www.unicef.org/afghanistan and https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/PW98_Women's-Access-to-Justice-in-Afghanistan.pdf

Women's rights in Afghanistan

Although the lives of Afghan women and girls have improved since 2001, women and girls still face human rights abuses.

Sexual harassment, domestic violence, and early forced marriage are still common in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas. 

 

Freshta’s family was one of the hundreds of families that live in caves dig up in the mountains near the city of Bamyan. She still have a big scar on her left leg caused by an infection related to the unhealthy living conditions, now it’s healing. Photo: Lorenzo Tugnoli/ActionAid

Four-year-old Freshta (left) and her family live in a cave in the mountains in Afghanistan.

Photo: Lorenzo Tugnoli/ActionAid

What we do in Afghanistan

We’ve helped 100,000 people in Afghanistan across five provinces: Bamyan, Balkh, Hirat, Jawjan and Kabul.

Support women’s rights

In Afghanistan, ActionAid has set up discussion groups where local facilitators help other women understand and practise their rights.

We train the facilitators to teach women in their communities vital skills like reading and writing - helping them to take control of their own lives.

Protect and educate children

Through local partners, we protect children across several provinces of Afghanistan, focusing on education and play time for children affected by conflict - including ex-child soldiers traumatised by war.

We work with schools, education departments, and community groups to promote the importance of education for children - especially girls because they're often the ones who miss out on going to or finishing school.

We run special courses to help more girls catch up on their studies, finish secondary school, and enrol into higher education.

Providing essentials during the Covid-19 crisis

Azada lives in a remote part of Afghanistan with no access to electricity, televisions, radio or social media.

With concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, she had no way to access any factual information about the disease and how to prevent its spread.

ActionAid along with its partners was able to distribute timely information about coronavirus and distribute essential hygiene kits with soap and masks. 

Now, I know to wash my hands regularly, use mask, keeping social distance and avoiding going to the busy places. I conveyed this message to my family members and friends to protect them from...coronavirus. I would like to thank ActionAid for supporting us in this difficult time”.

Learn more about the coronavirus pandemic

Helping fight against violence

32-year-old Najiba is married with four children and is the director of a women’s shelter in Afghanistan, 

With the help of ActionAid training, Najiba became one of the first female paralegals in Afghanistan to help fight violence against women and girls.

In Afghanistan, women aren’t viewed as human beings or equal partners...women were not aware of their rights before, now they tend to report violence more often.”

Learn more about our work supporting women's rights

Economically empowering women

28-year-old Zahra is a facilitator for a skills-training workshop in Bamyan province. Three days a week she teaches women to read and write.

The rest of the time, Zahra helps women produce handicrafts to sell at the local bazaar to earn an income and transform their lives.

Fatima, aged 45, helps Zaahra to run the group and the business. The classes have also helped change her life. 

A big change came into my life. Now I can read and write, when I go to the bazaar I can read the signs and everything is easier.”

Learn more about women's economic empowerment

Helping children go to school

When she was just three years old, Freshta’s family fled the Taliban and were forced to live in a cave up in the mountains near Bamyan city, west of Kabul, through the bitter winter. They barely had enough to eat.

Now, thanks to child sponsorship, we’ve helped her family find a new home and Freshta is looking forward to going to school.

Learn more about child sponsorship

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Footnotes

  • 1https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/afghanistan-ipc-acute-food-insecurity-analysis-march-november-2021-issued-april
  • 2https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/AF
  • 3https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.NAHC?locations=AF
  • 4https://www.ifad.org/en/

Top image: Ruqia is describing the details on Covid-19 to Azada Matin Khairy/ActionAid. Others: Lorenzo Tugnoli/ActionAid

Page updated 5 November 2021