The World Bank Group has provided over $1.7 billion in support to the Afghan people since August 2021, focusing on service delivery for women and girls. The funds are managed outside the control of the Interim Taliban Administration (ITA).
In December 2021, $280 million was transferred from the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF) to UNICEF and the World Food Program (WFP) for emergency health and nutrition needs during winter. Since early 2022, the World Bank and ARTF donors have supported Afghanistan with essential services including health, education, food security, livelihoods, and water.
In February 2024, the World Bank’s Board of Directors endorsed International Development Association (IDA) funds to complement ARTF financing for basic services in Afghanistan. These grants will be directed to United Nations agencies and other public international organizations, bypassing ITA control. The Board also approved resuming activities of the Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) in Afghanistan. This project aims to bring clean energy from Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan via Afghanistan while ensuring financial management remains outside ITA systems.
Several projects have been launched to assist Afghan communities:
- **Afghanistan Community Resilience and Livelihoods Project**: Approved in April 2022, it aims to provide livelihood opportunities for one million households across rural areas and cities like Bamyan, Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif.
- **Afghanistan Health Emergency Response Project**: Approved in May 2022, it supports access to basic health services for women and children through partnerships with national and international providers.
- **Afghanistan Emergency Food Security Project**: Approved in June 2022, this project aims to increase food crop production among smallholder farmers.
- **NGO/CSO Capacity Support Project**: Also approved in June 2022; it enhances capacities of NGOs and CSOs delivering basic services.
- **Education Emergency Response in Afghanistan (EERA) Project**: Approved in September 2022; it focuses on increasing access to education for girls and boys.
- **Afghanistan Water Emergency Relief Project (WERP)**: Approved in June 2023; it aims to improve access to safe drinking water for rural populations.
- **Empowering Microfinance and Enterprises for Resilience and Growth (EMERGe) Project**: Approved in March 2024; it seeks to revive microfinance providers aiding micro and small enterprises.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group focusing on private sector growth, has several ongoing initiatives:
- Equity investments in Afghanistan International Bank (since December 2015) aim at improving financial inclusion.
- Investments in First Microfinance Bank Limited support developing micro-finance as a viable commercial activity.
- Ghazanfar Bank Women Markets Advisory aimed at increasing women's access to finance was completed in June 2023.
- Investments like Afghanistan Red Pomegranate enhance financial management systems for expansion plans.
- The Afghanistan Private Sector Development Program supports SME development with specific initiatives like:
- The Afghanistan Private Sector Forum launched in May 2024
- Darya Incubation and Acceleration Program launched in February 2024
The World Bank Group also manages analytical work under the Afghanistan Futures program which includes various monitoring surveys aimed at informing international policy dialogue regarding support strategies for Afghanistan's economy and society.