People

The Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF) is a multi-sectoral fund managed by the World Bank and represents the main instrument for supporting basic services for the Afghan people, with contributions from 34 donors. Since 2022, the ARTF has adopted a programmatic approach aimed at ensuring the continuity of basic services and supporting livelihoods through programmes implemented by United Nations agencies and partner NGOs.

Following the events of August 2024, Italy resumed its contributions to the ARTF with €2 million disbursed on 20 June 2024, expressing a preference for the EMERGe – Empowering Microfinance and Enterprises for Resilience and Growth project, focused on women’s economic empowerment. The project, valued at USD 16 million, is managed by the Aga Khan Foundation-US in partnership with AKF-Afghanistan and the German Afghan Credit Guarantee Foundation.

Launched on 9 April 2024, the project aims to strengthen both the demand and supply sides of micro and small enterprise financing in Afghanistan, with a strong focus on women’s financial inclusion. To date, the project has reached approximately 34,000 beneficiaries of financial services.

The initiative adopts an integrated multisectoral protection approach for the most vulnerable sections of the population in order to ensure the protection, particularly of women and children, of food security, income-generating activities and to improve the quality of, and access to, essential basic health and education services. Expected results are: R1) Improved food security for the most vulnerable segments of the population and capacity to carry out income-generating activities in the provinces most affected by the food crisis; R2) Improved population health; R3) Promotes proactive response to recurrent crises resulting from climate shocks with the aim of reducing and managing disaster risk. The direct beneficiaries are about 245,000 people. Among these, particular attention is given to the most vulnerable groups, including: pregnant women and young mothers with children under 5 years of age; widows and householders; Women and children at risk of vulnerability (for incidents of gender violence, substance addiction, issues caused by neglect, trafficking, etc.); people with disabilities; particularly vulnerable families; IDPs and returnees; communities at environmental risk.

The activities are carried out by the following executing entities:

Le OSC hanno avviato i progetti nel giugno 2024, affrontando ritardi amministrativi legati alla sottoscrizione dei Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) con i ministeri locali. Ogni progetto ha richiesto un MoU con il Ministero dell’Economia e accordi specifici con i ministeri di settore. L’unica eccezione è stata Emergency, che ha potuto iniziare subito grazie a un MoU quinquennale con il Ministero della Salute, firmato nel febbraio 2023.

The initiative aims to support life-saving interventions and basic services in the areas of Health and Food Security for the most vulnerable segments of the Afghan population (women, children, displaced persons, returnees and host communities), At the same time, laying the foundations for strengthening their resilience through durable solutions. In line with the HNRP 2024, CSO activities in the area of food security will contribute to improving access to food and livelihoods and may include in-kind assistance, money transfers (CVA) and livelihood support. Gender-sensitive health interventions will be aimed at reducing mortality and morbidity in the vulnerable population and may include reproductive health services, trauma treatment, mental and psychosocial health support, prevention and response to epidemics/outbreaks. Activities will benefit communities affected by natural disasters, refugees, returnees, people with disabilities and women-led households, all highly vulnerable groups due to restrictions on movement and employment. Implementing CSOs will be selected via a Call for Proposals in the first quarter of 2025.

The intervention targets undocumented Afghan returnees from Pakistan and Iran, internally displaced persons (IDPs), cross-border migrants, and host communities.

Through both regular and ad hoc border assistance centers—including Torkham, Spin Boldak, Islam Qala, and Milak—as well as transit centers in the provinces of Herat, Nimroz, Kandahar, and Nangarhar, IOM aims to support the most vulnerable populations, properly identified, by providing: humanitarian assistance; protection services and case management for individuals requiring protection (including follow-up support at their final return destinations); access to basic healthcare and referrals to secondary and tertiary health services; and monitoring of migratory flows at the borders to track Afghan population movements to and from Iran and Pakistan, and to enhance the delivery of targeted assistance.

The project seeks to provide a timely and adequate response to returning populations, helping to avoid increased pressure on basic services and already limited resources available to the Afghan population.

Direct beneficiaries: 25,341 people, including 12,471 returnees receiving post-arrival assistance (of which 2,352 also received specialized protection support) and 12,870 IDPs and host community members who benefited from health services.

Funds were disbursed on 20 December 2024, and activities are scheduled to begin on 1 March 2025.

This 12-month initiative supports the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) in responding to the growing needs generated by the Afghan crisis. The Fund focuses on rapid interventions to address funding gaps and emergency needs by supporting coordination activities, swift responses, preparedness, and resilience. The AHF contributes to achieving the objectives of the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan through targeted actions aimed at meeting urgent needs, protecting women, girls, and vulnerable groups, and ensuring the continuity of services in key sectors such as health, WASH, agriculture, and education.

The initiative aims to deliver rapid, targeted, and integrated assistance in areas of highest need, while also acknowledging the widespread exposure to shocks and extreme fragility affecting the country. It also seeks to mitigate the humanitarian impact of de facto authorities’ (AdF) policies on women, girls, and other highly vulnerable groups.

Through support to the AHF, the initiative further strengthens ongoing advocacy efforts to address the root causes of growing protection needs and to realize the “centrality of protection” principle. Lastly, it contributes to the Fund’s work in close collaboration with partners engaged in delivering essential services to ensure continuity of basic humanitarian support for the Afghan population.

Funds were disbursed on 20 December 2024, and the initiative falls under the framework of the 2025 Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund.

The initiative has not only met the most urgent needs for basic assistance, but also promoted, in the medium and long term, more resilient, socially cohesive and economically strengthened communities through a Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus approach. The project provided targeted cash assistance to vulnerable populations in Afghanistan—including internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and host communities—to meet urgent needs such as food, health, hygiene, and shelter. In partnership with Save the Children International (SCI), 9,860 households received cash transfers, contributing to improved food security, nutrition, and access to education, while preventing child labour. Despite operational challenges, assistance continued without interruption. Moreover, the project bolstered economic stability in these communities by creating employment opportunities and supporting 316 vulnerable enterprises, thereby benefiting 3,480 employees and their families. All activities were completed on 15 March 2024.

The Italian contribution enabled the World Health Organization (WHO) to support 31 health facilities located in areas with insufficient services—specifically in the provinces of Helmand, Zabul, Nimroz, and Urozgan—delivering integrated primary and secondary care to 221,889 people. This support also included COVID‑19 prevention and treatment, as well as management of other infectious diseases. The intervention comprised four components:

1. Support to the Anabah Regional Hospital in Panjshir (implemented by the NGO EMERGENCY).
2. Strengthening of health facilities in Kabul, Zabul, and Kandahar (implemented by the NGO INTERSOS).
3. Support to COVID‑19 hospitals (WHO component delivered through national NGOs).
4. Coordination and leadership for health emergency preparedness and humanitarian response at national and local levels.

In addition, 379,127 residents of so‑called “white areas”—characterized by absent or inadequate basic health services—received care through 44 supported primary‑level facilities, including 379,127 outpatient department (OPD) consultations, 17,476 antenatal visits, 7,794 postnatal visits, 4,309 assisted deliveries, 55,222 vaccinations, 80,761 growth‑monitoring consultations, and 20,413 mental health consultations.

Furthermore, 334,721 people directly benefited from hospital‑level services—such as inpatient admissions, surgical procedures, skilled birth attendance, and caesarean sections—thanks to WHO support to three secondary‑level hospitals. All activities were completed on 30 June 2024.

The objectives of the STFA have been aligned since 2023 with the priorities of the UNSFA, implementing an integrated program to address basic human needs. This program combines life-saving humanitarian activities with initiatives aimed at safeguarding livelihoods and strengthening community resilience. The interventions focus on three main areas:

1. Essential services
2. Support for resilient livelihoods
3. Disaster risk prevention and management, and social cohesion

The contribution to the STFA was negotiated with a preference for supporting vulnerable groups, particularly women with substance dependency issues. The agreed activities include the provision of essential services, as well as prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation in target locations in the southeast of the country. The initiative also aims to contribute to the social reintegration of beneficiary groups by providing greater employment opportunities. Attention will be focused on priority areas with the highest prevalence of drug use, particularly in the southeastern region. It is expected that 84,390 people from vulnerable groups – especially women and children – will directly benefit from the planned activities, while 100,000 people will benefit indirectly from the initiative. The total number of beneficiaries reached in the first semester is 22,468, of which 11.55% are women and girls.

The one‑year intervention, valued at €1.5 million, aims to expand the provision of essential sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and gender‑based violence (GBV) response in Afghanistan. The expected results are:

R1: Increased access to life‑saving reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health services—facilitated by 27 Family Health Houses (FHH) serving as central “one‑stop‑shop” hubs.

R2: Improved availability and accessibility of essential maternal and reproductive health commodities within these FHHs.

This initiative will be implemented in Herat province and will directly benefit 135,609 people: 126,571 women and girls, and 9,038 men and boys. UNFPA will deploy an integrated RMNCAH (reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child, and adolescent health) approach through the FHH Hub model, creating a single-entry point for women, adolescents, and communities. Funds were disbursed on 18 December 2024, and activities are scheduled to commence on 1 January 2025.

The intervention increased the provision of essential services in support of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and against gender-based violence (GBV) in Afghanistan. The initiative has: i) increased access of underserved communities, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and host communities to essential reproductive health, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health information and services (RMNCAH) e GBV; ii) supported maternity services through support to health centres in the target provinces;  iii) Strengthened the capacity of humanitarian partners to provide SRH and GBV prevention and response services; iv) Supporting vulnerable adolescents and increasing young people’s access to peer education, psychosocial support (PSS) and livelihood services through multi-purpose youth centres.

The initiative was implemented in the provinces of Balkh, Kunduz, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Herat, Ghor, Nimroz, Kabul and Bamiyan and directly benefited 1,100,000 people: 539,000 women, 132,000 girls, 286,000 men, 143,000 boys. Activities completed on 31/03/2024.

This initiative supports the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2023 Special Appeal on “Disability and Mine Action” in Afghanistan, by providing specialized healthcare and promoting the socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities—particularly mine victims. The ICRC will ensure access to quality rehabilitation services by strengthening the capacity of existing centers and promoting the inclusion of staff with disabilities.

In addition, the initiative aims to improve living conditions, access to education, and the sustainability of rehabilitation services, in collaboration with local authorities to support the social reintegration of persons with disabilities. The ICRC will continue to guarantee and expand access to high-quality rehabilitation services in its seven supported or managed centers, including for individuals referred by other health facilities or identified in remote areas through outreach activities. These centers are located in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Jalalabad, Gulbahar, Faizabad, and Lashkar-Gah.

The ICRC will also strive to employ a greater number of persons with disabilities in its rehabilitation centers across the country, as part of a broader effort to promote inclusive employment practices. Overall, the initiative aims to reach 169,530 beneficiaries. The ICRC’s seven physical rehabilitation centers will receive support to expand and improve their infrastructure and services. Additionally, the ICRC will complete the construction of a new center in Lashkar Gah and carry out a feasibility study for another center in Gulbahar. The initiative is funded under the 2023 Appeal.

This initiative aims to support the implementation of projects under the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2024 Special Appeal on “Disability and Humanitarian Mine Action” in Afghanistan. It focuses on delivering specialized healthcare and promoting the socio-economic inclusion of persons with disabilities, particularly survivors of landmines and other unexploded ordnance.

The ICRC will continue to ensure that individuals with physical disabilities have access to assistive devices, physiotherapy, and other rehabilitation services through its seven managed or supported centers located in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Herat, Jalalabad, Gulbahar, Faizabad, and Lashkar-Gah. Efforts will be made to expand access to these centers, including for patients referred by other healthcare facilities or coming from remote areas. The initiative is funded under the 2024 Appeal.