Afghanistan

We work closely with communities to strengthen local services, improve livelihoods, and protect the environment.

Community groups and committees have been set up to bring people together, support joint planning, and help strengthen social cohesion. To help families build financial security, we have supported the creation of self‑help groups, where community members save money together and explore small business opportunities.

At the same time, we have worked with communities to improve basic infrastructure and care for natural resources. Through cash‑for‑work activities, people help build shared community assets and carried out environmental protection work, such as watershed management and soil conservation. Additionally, locally-recruited female health workers have received training to improve the quality of care they provide.

These activities are helping to  short‑term income while improving land, resources, and community health for the long term.

Through our Family Health House project, Concern is expanding access to maternal, newborn, and child health and nutrition services for 49 remote and underserved communities in Afghanistan’s northeastern provinces. The project supports the provision of high quality and culturally-appropriate healthcare for women and children.

In 2025, thousands of women and young children received essential health services that helped keep families safe and well. More than 17,000 children under five were brought in for check‑ups, growth monitoring, nutrition screening, and treatment for common illnesses. Women also accessed care in large numbers, with over 20,000 attending outpatient consultations. Mothers received strong support throughout pregnancy and after birth, including nearly 5,000 prenatal visits and more than 1,600 postnatal visits that ensured timely care and healthy recovery. A total of 528 babies were safely delivered by skilled midwives, reducing the risks that come with giving birth at home.

An additional 3,000 young children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers were screened for malnutrition. This helped identify 500 moderate and 100 severe cases. When complications arose, the referral system ensured that people received the right level of care. In total, 108 patients with serious conditions were safely referred to higher‑level health facilities.

We support families at risk of food insecurity and malnutrition to establish sustainable, income-generating businesses. Through our Faragir and Prevale projects, we support small-scale farmers to access agribusiness services. These services help farmers to increase their production and profitability, and to improve the storage of their produce. Additionally, farmers are supported to adopt Climate Smart Agriculture practices to increase resilience to climate change.