The European Union provides more than €5.7 million in livelihood support to the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan to improve lives of 350,000 Afghan families

11.07.2023  

Kabul, Afghanistan

 Press and information team of the Delegation to Afghanistan

The European Union (EU) has allocated more than €5.7 million to the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan’s (DCA) livestock programme in support of vulnerable local populations in Afghanistan.

EUROPEAN UNION, 2023

The programme helps 350,000 vulnerable community households across 16 provinces to improve animal health of their livestock and increasing dietary diversity. This will improve food security, strengthen community resilience and support rural communities in transitioning from aid dependency towards self-sufficiency.

“I am very glad to see how our European funding to rural communities can make a real difference on the ground. Jointly with the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan, we ensure that 350.000 household will be more food secure and less dependent on international aid assistance”, said the EU Chargée d’Affaires to Afghanistan, Raffaella Iodice.

Abdul Qadir Fakhri, the Program Director of the Dutch Committee for Afghanistan confirmed: “We are committed to improve food and nutritional diversity, extension services, natural resource management, value chain development, income production, and job creation for 350,000 disadvantaged households through this cooperation with the European Union. DCA takes a unique approach to resilience building by utilising technically competent private sector such as professional paravets who provide services for a fee in a more sustainable manner. I am extremely grateful to the European Union for putting their faith in the DCA and supporting this project.”

Animal feed shortages and poor animal health, compounded by an economic crisis, often leave rural farming communities no other choice than selling their livestock below the market price.  The EU-funded programme supports private sector actors, pastoralist households, rural youth, elderly, disabled, displaced, returnees, and women. Safeguarding livelihoods and diversification of food intake is promoted by creating opportunities for private sector development and enhancing the existing resilience mechanism of rural vulnerable communities through livestock-focused innovations.

Background

Years of conflict, severe droughts leading to poor harvests and the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to high degrees of food insecurity across Afghanistan. The European Union is among the leading aid donors in Afghanistan in providing principled basic needs assistance in support of the people of Afghanistan. The EU’s assistance to Afghanistan addresses the most vulnerable segments of the population, including women, girls, minorities, internally displaced persons and refugees. EU aid is always channelled through trusted partners and reaches millions of Afghans each year.