Target groups

Women

Women in Afghanistan face numerous challenges and restrictions, especially in terms of education, health, work, and their personal freedoms. Since the early days of SCA’s presence in Afghanistan, the organisation has been working to empower women and give them better access to basic services.

Thousands of women in Afghanistan lose their lives every year while giving birth, according to the UN. To combat maternal and infant mortality, SCA has trained hundreds of midwives and nurses from remote areas over the last 20 years.

A woman’s position in her family and society is strengthened when she gets her own income. To empower women financially, SCA has provided vocational training as well as loans and business support through saving and producer groups.

Children and youth

About half of the Afghan population are children under the age of 15. Children as the most vulnerable group of society faces some serious health problems. In every 1,000 children, 50 of them die before age 5. Hundreds of thousands of children are malnourished due to poverty.

Millions of children in Afghanistan do not have access to education and a majority of them are girls. Secondary schools for girls have been closed after the change of government in 2021. SCA is gravely concerned about the restrictions, which will have severe consequences for the future development of the country.

SCA set up its first schools in Afghanistan in the 1980s, with a special focus on girls in rural villages where no other schools were available. For 40 years, the Solidarity Committee for Afghanistan provided educational services for children in rural areas, mostly in remote villages where no other education was available. Preschool educational training was offered to children with disabilities who could then be enrolled in mainstream schools. In 2022, 130 000 children were enrolled in SCA schools, 65 percent of them girls. In 2023, SCA’s schools were handed over to provincial education authorities.

People with disabilities

Almost 800 000 Afghans are living with a severe disability. Poor conditions for healthcare, a long history of conflict, land mines, congenital disabilities, and malnutrition, are the key contributors to high rates of disability.

People with disabilities are vulnerable and can face stigma. This means they have less opportunities to get an education, earn a living or participate in society. Women are doubly vulnerable.

To tackle this, SCA supports people with disabilities through physical rehabilitation, livelihood projects, and education, to enable them to become contributing members of society. Just over 20,000 people received physiotherapy in 2022 and 18,000 patients received orthopedic aids such as crutches, orthoses, prostheses and wheelchairs. To empower people with disabilities economically, SCA offered vocational training and interest-free loans. Children were supported through special and inclusive education.