The results in context

A significant portion of the Dutch ODA budget for Afghanistan goes to the security sector. In addition to our support for the army and the police, the Netherlands has achieved successes in strengthening the security sector from the bottom-up (through civil society) as well as through its UN Habitat Safer City programme and its GIZ Rule of Law programme.

Through our UN Habitat safer cities project, urban populations and municipality staff receive training on rights for urban citizens, which has influenced policies and improved security in numerous neighbourhoods. In the reporting period, 1,640 people received training in political governance activities and the programme supported 110 Community Development Councils.

Education on and raising awareness of basic rights and legal frameworks is important for Afghans who have lived through years of conflict. Especially for women, access to justice can be difficult in Afghanistan. As the host country to many international courts, the Netherlands actively seeks to improve access to justice worldwide. We therefore aim to increase the participation of women in training activities in both the formal and informal justice sectors, as well as in universities and schools, which has led to better access to justice for Afghan women. In the reporting period, 10 workshops on access to justice have been organised under this project.

The results in context

The Netherlands believes that in order to achieve and maintain a stable Afghanistan, an inclusive and sustainable peace is needed. Peace is more successful, more sustainable and more encompassing if it is inclusive and women therefore need to be engaged. The Netherlands strongly advocates the role of women and young people in the peace process. To this end, the Netherlands supports the creation of Provincial Women's Networks in 15 provinces, which represent more than 7,700 women in the country and push for policy reforms and the involvement of women in peace processes in the provincial and national peace councils.

Furthermore, the Netherlands supports the training of women and men in remote areas of Afghanistan with the aim of improving their economic position. Women learn how to better gain access to the local market with their products, thereby increasing their economic independence and their families’ financial situation. In the reporting period, the project strengthened the capacity of more than 7,700 women to adjust to changing contexts.

The results in context

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, agriculture in Afghanistan contributes almost a third to GDP and provides over two-thirds of employment. This is why the Netherlands contributes to improving food security and shock resilience in Afghanistan. Through our contributions to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, the National Agricultural Education College (NAEC) and the World Food Program, we have achieved important results.

Since its establishment in 2011, 914 agriculture teachers have graduated from NAEC, of which 162 were women. In the reporting period, NAEC, in close co-operation with Wageningen University in the Netherlands, has also developed a new curriculum to improve the quality of education standards at 151 agricultural high schools across the country. In co-operation with the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Authority, the project distributed more than 100,000 books in two languages (Dari and Pashto). In 2020, work will continue to upgrade the level of education from 'college' to 'University of Applied Science', in order to make the contribution to Afghanistan’s development more sustainable.

The Netherlands works with the World Food Program to make people more resilient to shocks such as drought and flooding. Its food for assets project reduces the vulnerability of Afghan people and increases their food security by building dams, dikes and irrigation channels. It teaches them agriculture skills that protect important farmlands. In the reporting period, the programme reached more than 67,000 undernourished people and more than 22,000 people’s nutritional situation became more resilient to shocks.