Afghanistan: EU reinforces support for the Afghan people’s basic needs and livelihoods with €146 million

European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, announced a new funding package worth €146 million to strengthen basic services and livelihoods for Afghans, with a particular attention to women, children and vulnerable populations – including internally displaced persons, refugees, minorities and returnees. The package addresses the growing needs of the Afghan population, especially as the women and girls’ rights have been undermined at alarming rates. Commissioner made the announcement at the side event “Three Years On: Supporting Afghan Women’s rights”, organised on the margins of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly that takes place in New York on 24-28 September.

Commissioner Urpilainen said: “The EU stands firm in its support for the Afghan people. The more the Taliban rule restricts freedoms for women and girls, the more there is a need for us, the international community, to be there. Despite the volatile context, we can continue to strengthen resilience of communities and individuals through basic social services, community-based safety nets, and livelihoods support in line with the EU’s established principled approach. Our efforts ensure that women play a meaningful role in both the design and delivery of assistance. This new €146 million package reinforced our ongoing commitment to supporting the most vulnerable in Afghanistan.”

The basic needs and livelihoods assistance will continue to be provided through the established principled approach, safeguarding the EU’s specific attention to women and girls, in a ‘by women for women’ spirit.

Since 2021, the EU has provided a total of €903 million for basic needs, livelihoods, forced displacement and migration, complementing €743 million in humanitarian assistance in a nexus approach. This reaffirms the EU as the world’s leading provider of support to the Afghan population.

Basic services 

The EU’s new support will ensure the continuity of essential services such as healthcare, education, access to food and nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). For education, the EU may provide basic needs support, such as school meals and other incentives to keep girls and boys in schools, teacher training and support, or the rehabilitation of schools and the provision of classroom equipment. Support in health may include strengthening drug abuse prevention and treatment, considering high prevalence of drug abuse, as well as psychological health services, given that 35-40% of the Afghan population suffers from some kind of mental health issue after decades of conflict, violence and poverty. 

Livelihoods

This support will help address widespread poverty by providing community-based safety nets, improving access to income generating and business support services at the community level, and enhancing value chain effectiveness, market access and access to finance at the microlevel. Recognising the importance of the private sector and access to finance in securing community livelihoods, support will also be directed towards economic opportunities, particularly for women and vulnerable groups. This support will be strengthened through a range of initiatives, such as business development services, enhanced market access and microfinancing.

As part of the EU’s long-standing partnership with the UN, Commissioner Urpilainen also signed three programmes to support the livelihoods and access to health services for the people of Afghanistan:

• a €15 million programme with the UN Development Programme to increase community resilience;
• a €16 million programme with the World Health Organization to improve access to quality and comprehensive non-communicable diseases care services;
• a €15 million programme with the UN Population Fund to boost reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent Health and nutrition care.

Background 

Three years since the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan continues to grapple with one of the most severe humanitarian, socio-economic and human rights crises worldwide. Two-thirds of the Afghan population struggle to meet their basic needs. In addition, the displacement situation in Afghanistan is one of the most enduring in recent history. Despite suspended development cooperation, the EU persists in its efforts to support the Afghan population by addressing their basic needs and sustain their livelihoods. This assistance is complementary to humanitarian aid to provide the people with medium-term perspective and create a set of stabilising factors. The EU’s assistance to the Afghan population is provided according to the principled approach which ensures that women remain beneficiaries of aid and that they are meaningfully involved in the delivery, as affirmed in the September 2021 and March 2023 Council Conclusions. EU assistance is not channelled through or benefiting the de facto authorities, all aid is implemented by UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Factsheet on the EU support to the Afghan people: addressing their basic needs and livelihoods opportunities