Afghanistan

The ICRC has been serving the people of Afghanistan for over 40 years, protecting, and assisting them amidst the consequences of armed conflicts and overlapping challenges. 

An ICRC doctor checking the ankle of a child seated on an examination table, in Afghanistan.

Our work in Afghanistan

The ICRC is responding to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan by providing basic health care and physical rehabilitation support, helping people establish livelihoods and earn money, reconnecting families that have been separated by the conflicts, and improving access to clean water, sanitary facilities and electricity. We work together with the Afghan Red Crescent Society and other partners of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

A man overlooks ICRC vehicles in Kunduz province, Khan Abad district. Ash Sweeting/ICRC

The impact of our work: 2024

964,259

patients (65% women and children) received primary health care at Afghan Red Crescent Society clinics supported by the ICRC.

191

cases of missing people were solved and their whereabouts were ascertained.

39

Red Cross messages and 6 “Salamat” (oral short messages) were exchanged between detainees and their families. 

50,584

farmers received cash grants to buy seed, fertilizer and tools to improve agricultural production.

460,000

people received improved electricity supply in Zabul, Mazar, Kandahar, Helmand, Khost and Herat provinces.

Stories from the people we serve

Without the ICRC’s home-schooling programme, people who use wheelchairs and those not able to go to public or private schools would all be illiterate.

The cash assistance brought us back to life. It was like throwing a fish back into the sea.

Our services in Afghanistan

  • Through our Protection of Family Links service, in cooperation with the Afghan Red Crescent Society, we seek to reunite family members separated by armed conflict, other violence, natural disasters, migration or detention. This service also helps restore and maintain family contact and, when needed, facilitates the reunification of minors with their family members.

  • The ICRC supports seven physical rehabilitation centres across Afghanistan, in Kabul, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Balkh, Herat, Gulbahar and Helmand. In 2022, we helped more than 13,000 people with physical disabilities, including patients diagnosed with cerebral palsy. If you are living in one of the above-mentioned provinces or a neighbouring one, please visit one of our centres.

Contact us

Address

Street 15, Lane 1, House #4, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, Afghanistan

Opening Hours:

8am–5pm

Our work with the Afghan Red Crescent Society

The ICRC works in cooperation with the Afghan Red Crescent Society and other Movement partners. The Movement is the biggest humanitarian network in the world. By complementing each other’s efforts, we are able to move forward and deliver more.