The EU has allocated €10 million to the Aga Khan Foundation for a 36-month programme supporting displaced people and host communities across 10 provinces in Afghanistan.
The funding will help deliver a €13.5 million initiative, with the remaining €3.5 million co-funded by the Aga Khan Foundation, the EU Delegation to Afghanistan announced on Wednesday, cited by the European External Action Service (EEAS).
The programme — called Boosting Resilience, Inclusive Development, Growth and Economic Empowerment (BRIDGE) — is expected to directly benefit 83,197 people and indirectly 582,379 people, with a focus on youth, women, vulnerable host communities, returnees and internally displaced persons.
BRIDGE will cover three areas: climate resilience and agricultural livelihoods; economic growth and employment; and community resilience and sustainable reintegration.
Agriculture, jobs and community reintegration
On climate resilience, the initiative will directly benefit 35,900 people through climate-smart and regenerative agriculture, including support for agricultural assets, inputs and technologies, and work on agricultural value chains and natural resource management, the delegation said.
On economic growth, the programme will directly reach 24,000 people through employment, entrepreneurship and support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) — businesses ranging from sole traders to small firms — with a particular focus on women-led and returnee-led businesses.
The project will also expand community-based savings groups (CBSGs), which pool savings to provide members with access to basic finance, to support savings and community-level access to finance and increase women’s participation in economic activities.
Work on social cohesion and reintegration mechanisms, community engagement and coordination is expected to directly reach 23,300 people.
“Today, we concluded an agreement that will support the livelihoods of Afghan people and help address the root causes of migration and forced displacement,” said Eric Beaume, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Afghanistan.
“This project reflects our shared commitment to supporting vulnerable communities in strengthening socioeconomic stability and creating sustainable livelihoods and economic opportunities across Afghanistan,” said Dr Najmuddin Najm, Chief Executive Officer of the Aga Khan Foundation and Aga Khan Development Network Coordinator for Afghanistan.
