UNDP has signed a partnership agreement worth $20 million with the World Bank to support humanitarian, economic, and social development initiatives across all eight regions and 34 provinces of Afghanistan. This comes as the citizens of Afghanistan are worried about the future of Afghanistan, facing with drought and economic crisis.
In a statement issues in this regard, UNDP said the new partnership will provide tailored capacity building to non-government organizations within their work environment and support their Quick Impact Projects.
“Given UNDP’s decades of experience and expertise in supporting economic revival and fragile communities, the agency will select 400 non-government organizations based on their capacity for swift outreach, engagement, and project design,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the Quick Impact Projects will aim to enhance access to health, education, agriculture and food security and livelihood activities for vulnerable and marginalized communities, including persons with disabilities.
Due to the prolonged conflict in the country, non-government organizations have played a critical role in the service delivery of humanitarian and development activities in hard-to-reach areas of Afghanistan.
However, since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) takeover in August 2021 and the subsequent departure of major donors, the financial and operational management capacities of the NGOs have worsened.
“We thank the World Bank for showing solidarity and support to the non-government organizations in Afghanistan and helping them grow when they need it most,” said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Surayo Buzurukova. “This project also emphasizes UNDP’s priority in strengthening partnerships on the ground that is indispensable in supporting us to respond swiftly and flexibly to the community.”
This is the latest project approved through World Bank’s Approach 2.0, an expanded approach to support the people of Afghanistan based on the request of Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) donors and the international community.
According to UNDP, the Approach will guide the provision of over $1 billion in funds from the ARTF in the form of recipient-executed grants to selected United Nations agencies and international NGOs.
The initiative is also part of the UNDP-led, Area-based Approach for Development Emergency Initiative (ABADEI), a commitment to support community resilience through area-based integrated programming.
It is worth mentioning that the strategy aims to sustain essential services and address basic human needs for the people of Afghanistan in times of crisis by bringing UN agencies and non-governmental organizations together to provide community-level solutions that complement the urgent humanitarian interventions.
Amiri
UNDP, World Bank sign agreement worth $20m to support Afghanistan
