WASHINGTON, April 30, 2024—The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $84 million grant from the International Development Association for the Afghanistan Community Resilience and Livelihoods Project, which complements $70 million in additional financing from the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund.
Melinda Good, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan, expressed, "In the past 18 months, the project has laid the foundation for an effective service delivery platform and operational model at scale for delivering jobs, providing essential services and assets, and, importantly, reaching women."
The project, which began in 2022 with a $265 million grant from the ARTF, aims to provide livelihood support and services in rural and urban areas, support social grants for women and the most vulnerable, and strengthen community institutions for inclusive service delivery. With the additional financing, the project will expand its activities to more rural and urban areas, provide more livelihood opportunities for women, focus on building climate resilience, and offer employment and services to returning Afghan migrants.
The initiative has already made significant impacts, providing short-term employment to over 776,000 households, benefiting approximately 5.4 million Afghans. Additionally, around 92,200 vulnerable households, particularly female-headed or those with disabled members, received cash transfers or social grants. Services such as roads, sanitation, and water supply have been extended to about 7.4 million Afghans, while over 2.1 million community members have undergone training in health and nutrition, climate change effects, and disaster risk management.
Moreover, the project has played a role in creating a market for local civil works and maintaining the capacities of local contractors developed over the past two decades, resulting in the creation of an estimated 2,200 highly skilled jobs.
Implemented by UNOPS, the project collaborates with international and local NGO partners as well as local private sector contractors to carry out activities in rural and urban areas.