Aga Khan Development Network pledges to assist Afghans

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has declared its commitment to helping millions of Afghans who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance after the Taliban took over the country last month.

The change in leadership prompted the exit of many foreign organisations that worked in Afghanistan.

AKDN also called on the international community to remain engaged and help address humanitarian conditions in the country.

The takeover has raised fears that the gains made after the Taliban were overthrown by US and allied forces 20 years ago would be rolled back.

In a statement after a high-level ministerial meeting convened by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, AKDN General Manager Michael Kocher affirmed that the group’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan remains unshaken.

“As we hear today, the economic situation in Afghanistan is bad and worsening. The banking system is non-functional. Rampant unemployment is increasing. Resources are desperately needed for food, medicine, education and other essential services. Healthcare facilities in many areas may close in a matter of days, in the midst of a pandemic,” Mr Kocher said.

“Eighteen million people are already in extreme need, with a similar number at risk. That suggests virtually the entire country could be without adequate healthcare, without enough food, and without sufficient livelihoods. As a long-standing partner of Afghanistan and its people, we draw attention to the need for urgent, corresponding measures.”

AKDN agencies have worked in Afghanistan for more than three decades, providing healthcare and education services, rural infrastructure, irrigation canals, connectivity and communications, professional training, and continuing education for women and men.

“Let us not turn away from decades of progress. Two-thirds of Afghans under the age of 25 … have lived under the shadow of war – but with hopes and aspirations intact. We owe them dignity – the promise of standing together in facing the future,” Mr Kocher said.

He called upon the international community to support Afghanistan’s longer-term development. “Conditions are dire. Healthcare, education, food security and the economy are under profound strain,” he emphasised.

The meeting was convened to highlight the acute needs in Afghanistan and underscore the urgent funding support and actions required by international partners to support the people of Afghanistan.

AKDN began working in Afghanistan in the 1990s when it started distributing food aid. Its current integrated approach combines social, economic and cultural inputs, with projects that span over 240 cities and towns in the country’s 34 provinces.

Its cultural programmes, which operate in Kabul, Herat and Balkh, have restored over 150 historic sites.