EU stresses continued support for women and vulnerable communities in Badakhshan

Kabul Times News – A delegation from the European Union visited a number of development and humanitarian projects in Faizabad city and Baharak and Arghanjkhah districts during a visit to Badakhshan province, emphasizing continued support for the people, especially women, vulnerable families and local communities.

According to the EU, the visit was conducted to assess the implementation of support programs in the areas of livelihoods, food security, health services, agriculture and women’s economic empowerment. The organization stated that Badakhshan continues to face challenges including poverty, limited job opportunities, food insecurity, the consequences of climate change and inadequate access to basic services.

The European Union says that women, girls, youth, farmers, returnee families, internally displaced persons and host communities are among the most vulnerable groups in the province, and the bulk of its support programs are focused on improving the living conditions of these groups.

During the visit, the European delegation visited projects including vocational training centers, agricultural greenhouses, irrigation canals, health centers, a dairy processing plant, savings and loan funds, as well as special training centers for women and girls.

According to the European Union, one of the most important programs of the organization supports women-managed businesses. Within the framework of this program, a sewing and handicraft center in Faizabad city has been able to increase its educational capacity and create job opportunities for a number of female heads of families by receiving a loan of 200,000 afghanis.

In the agriculture sector, a project to reconstruct an eight-kilometer irrigation canal in Arghanjkhah district has been put into operation; A project that has irrigated hundreds of hectares of agricultural land and benefited thousands of residents in the region.

The EU delegation also visited a hospital supported by the organization, which, by expanding its medical services capacity, now provides a wider range of services to the residents of Badakhshan.

Another program of the trip was to visit the Multipurpose Women’s Center in Faizabad, which provides services including literacy training, digital skills, vocational training, psychosocial counseling, and women’s economic empowerment programs. According to the EU, hundreds of women and girls have benefited from the center’s training programs since 2023.

The EU also announced that support programs for women’s savings groups and local loan funds are being expanded, and it is expected that more than 34,000 families in ten provinces of Afghanistan will benefit from these projects.

The organization has emphasized that the purpose of implementing these programs is to strengthen livelihoods, increase food security, develop economic opportunities for women, improve local infrastructure, and increase the resilience of vulnerable communities in Afghanistan.

Report: Shahbanu Noori