Afghanistan
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Photo: Toni Greaves for Mercy Corps
Our strategy
Improve the quality of life of ordinary citizens by strengthening sustainable, legitimate livelihoods.
The context
Decades of ongoing conflict, political instability, drought and economic chaos has left Afghanistan one of the world’s poorest and unstable nations. Eighty-five percent of the population relies on agriculture and natural resource-based livelihoods, leaving them vulnerable in a precarious economy.
Our work
- Agriculture & Food: Increasing farmers' production through training, infrastructure and links to local and global markets
- Economic opportunity: Providing training and work opportunities in areas ranging from road-building to poultry farming
- Water: Supporting equal, sustainable access to water resources for farmers
- Women & Gender: Helping women learn job skills and start small businesses
All stories about Afghanistan
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Afghanistan: Meet our field staff: Meena March 18, 2013
More than 95 percent of our worldwide team members are from the countries where they work — and we're inviting them to give us a peek into their work and lives. This month, meet Meena Haidari, who is working to empower women in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan: Thoughts from a recent visit December 10, 2012
In strategic governance and economic development work, Mercy Corps' CEO sees progress toward a stronger future in Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan: Students welcome visit from British government official July 12, 2012
The normal school day at our vocational training centre in rural Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan was recently shaken up — but students were eager to discuss the changes education has brought to their lives.
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Afghanistan: Fathers and sons learn a trade together June 13, 2012
Multiple generations are learning new job skills like carpentry in Afghanistan's Helmand province, where decades of conflict have limited opportunities to earn an income.
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Afghanistan: New graduates yield unexpected returns May 15, 2012
The latest group of students to graduate from our vocational training programme in southern Afghanistan — more than 3,600 of them — show that real success is giving young people hope.
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Afghanistan: Behind the camera: Chickens that change lives April 27, 2012
A photographer in Afghanistan experiences first-hand the tension and risk women face as they try to earn a living and tell their story.
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Afghanistan: Education against all odds: Job skills open up new world April 10, 2012
Less than a year after opening our INVEST vocational training centre to women in Helmand province, more than 900 women have enrolled to learn job skills for the first time. Meet Shamsiya, who is bravely seizing her brand new opportunities.
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Afghanistan: International Women's Day: Working hard for our futures March 8, 2012
While we at the Mercy Corps office in Kabul celebrate International Women’s Day, it remains a sad reality that much of the rest of Afghanistan is not.
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Afghanistan: Building better lives in the midst of conflict February 29, 2012
As the uncertain tensions and violence in Afghanistan continue, our predominantly Afghan team is working tirelessly to ensure that community needs are met.
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Afghanistan: Young man learns sewing trade February 15, 2012
Our INVEST programme helps men — and now women, too — learn job skills that put them on a path toward economic independence.