Action for Development

17/10/2026

Poverty is the biggest barrier to care.

In 2025, 37,641 of the 70,182 services at our Kabul health centre were free of charge, supported by a hybrid model of user fees and donor funding.

16/10/2026

Good nutrition supports learning.

Our School for Street-Working Children served 99,237 meals in 2025 and gave every student multivitamins.

We also joined the School Meals Coalition in September. 🍲

15/10/2026

Rural families depend on local midwives.

In 2025, 43 midwives were trained as Master-Trainers and cascaded the training in Kabul and Takhar, reaching 120 midwives.

12/10/2026

In celebration of this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, we reflect on the impact of our work and reaffirm our commitment to supporting women and girls in Afghanistan, championing their rights, and helping create opportunities for a better future.

Girls over 12 remain barred from formal school.

In 2025 our home-based schools grew from 14 to 20 locations in four provinces, reaching 411 girls.

More than 80% passed their exams. 📚

01/10/2026

As we settle into a new month, one moment stands out for Action for Development from September;
Blooming Afghanistan: Art Resists – Hope Blooms.

Held at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) from 7 to 9 September 2026, during the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council ( ), and co-organised by Action for Development with a coalition of civil society partners, the exhibition brought the creativity and voices of Afghanistan’s artists and students into the heart of multilateral Geneva.

Through paintings, drawings and interactive artworks, it created space for stories, cultural exchanges, sharing of opinions and perspectives. Afghanistan, historically was a center of eastern renaissance, and recreation of art and literature - this time the exhibition also featured the beauty of the landscapes, culture and people living in those geographical areas.
The words often remain insufficient to mirror the feelings. Selected works were also brought to life through AI via QR codes, linking art, technology and advocacy.

We were glad to meet people sustaining this work across borders, including an Afghanistan’s origin Art-teacher in Sweden who teaches art to girls in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan’s artist and cultural advocate Nazir Raguzar from Paris.

On 8 September, the programme continued at Victoria Hall with a panel discussion, a cultural apéritif and a concert.
Two of young vocalists ( Dawood Pezhman and Arash Barez) presented their recent works, as well as sung the classic songs and took us back to the era of famous Persian Poets Rodaki (c. 858-940) and Mawlana Mohsmmad Rumi (c. 1207-1273)

Looking back, what stays with us is the reminder that education is a right and a foundation for sustainable peace and development. Education is the pathway which has to be pursued by all to enable the country once again bloom and re-establish.

We call on States, UN entities and donors to protect and fund girls' education, including community-based and online learning, and to keep Afghanistan’s women and girls at the table.

The season is changing but our work continues.

Our sincere thanks to;
🔗 Action for Development Communications Team, OMCT (World Organisation Against Torture), Human Rights Defenders Plus (HRD+), Civil Society and Human Rights Network (CSHRN), Artistic Freedom Initiative, AHRDO, Embassy of Foreign Artists, Arash Barez
🙏 Embassy & Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Geneva, Swiss Confederation, FORUM-ASIA, ADDO, Center for Human Rights Advocacy, Dialogue Hub for Common Ground, Center for Dialogue and Progress (CDP-G)

10/09/2026

🎉 We’re pleased to share some exciting news!
💙 Action for Development has been selected for the 2026 Safer World Fund Matching Campaign on GlobalGiving!
Through this campaign, your support will help advance our Access to Primary Healthcare project in Afghanistan 🇦🇫, helping women and families access essential healthcare when they need it most.
Our project provides:
🤰 Free healthcare for women during pregnancy and childbirth
💊 Support with essential medicine costs for women-headed households
🏥 Greater access to vital primary healthcare services
✨ And your generosity can go twice as far!
Donations will be matched 100%, up to $1,000 per donor, until December 31, 2026, or until matching funds run out.
Every contribution can help us reach more women and families with essential healthcare. 🤝
👉 Donate today and multiply your impact:
https://bit.ly/3UM3POk
🙏 Thank you for standing with us and supporting women’s health, dignity, and wellbeing in Afghanistan.

22/08/2026

This week, the world marked , honoring people who keep showing up in the hardest circumstances.

In , Action for Development is focused on protecting a hard-won national achievement: a midwifery workforce built from just 467 midwives in 2001 (which meant that only 1 midwife was available to cater to 50,000 people) to nearly 35,000 trained graduates by 2021.

However, only 5000 of them are employed (meaning 6 midwives are available to cater to 50,000 people).

Since late 2024, women have been barred from midwifery and nursing training; cutting off the pipeline of future health workers in a country where maternal care depends almost entirely on female providers.

With support from ONE DAY’S WAGES , Action for Development is investing in the already serving their communities; strengthening clinical skills in antenatal care, safe delivery, and complication management.

We've also seen this investment in people translate directly into outcomes: community health workers we've trained have gone on to complete university degrees and return to serve their own communities as qualified doctors and dentists, including through a new dental unit established at one of our supported facilities.

This is humanitarian work in practice: not only responding to crisis, but preserving the people and skills that make recovery possible.

To learn more/support our mission, click here
https://actfordev.org/
https://onedayswages.org/

19/08/2026

🚨 New Event Alert!

This September, Action for Development is proud to partner in two special events in Geneva celebrating Afghan art, music, cultural expression, and resilience.

🔗 Link: https://www.geneve-communes.ch/agenda/blooming-afghanistan-art-resists-hope-blooms-arash-barez-and-aseman-ensemble-live-victoria

🖼️ EVENT 1 — BLOOMING AFGHANISTAN EXHIBITION
📅 7–9 September 2026
📍 Palais des Nations, Geneva – Building A, Salle des Pas Perdus

The exhibition will feature a wide range of artworks from Afghanistan including works created by our students there, giving them an opportunity to share their creativity and perspectives with an international audience in Geneva.
The programme will also include daily interactive painting sessions from 13:00 to 15:00.
One of the artists performing at the Victoria Hall concert will also participate in the exhibition, creating a special connection between the two events through both visual art and music.

🎶 EVENT 2 — CULTURAL RIGHTS DISCUSSION & CONCERT
📅 8 September 2026
📍 Victoria Hall, Geneva

The evening will bring together artists, diplomats, human rights defenders and the public for a discussion on cultural rights in Afghanistan, followed by Afghan refreshments and a concert by Arash Barez and Ensemble Aseman.

🕡 18:30–19:30 — Public discussion on cultural rights in Afghanistan
🥟 19:30–20:00 — Afghan refreshments
🎵 20:30–22:00 — Arash Barez & Ensemble Aseman in concert

Admission is free – registration is required.

We are delighted to support both events and to help bring the creativity of our students in Afghanistan to Geneva.

18/08/2026

18/08/2026

It was an inspiring and important conversation. We are deeply grateful to our speakers and everyone who joined us to listen, learn, and stand in solidarity with women and girls in Afghanistan. The conversation may be over, but the work—and our commitment—continues.



For nearly five years, women and girls in Afghanistan have faced one of the most severe rollbacks of rights in modern history. Restrictions have reached nearly every aspect of daily life, from education and employment to healthcare, freedom of movement, and public participation.

Yet Afghan women continue to lead, care for their communities, and fight for a more just future.

Join for a conversation with the leaders working alongside them every day:

🎙️ Zahra Nader, Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief, (Moderator)
🎙️ Zuhra Dadgar-Shafiq, , implementing partner of
🎙️ Sana Mahmud,
🎙️ Nancy Newman, (IANGEL)
🎙️ Dr. Susan Antolin,

Together, they'll discuss how organizations are adapting to expand maternal healthcare, strengthen mental health, advance women's rights, and provide life-saving support to women and girls despite extraordinary challenges.

Join us on Wednesday, August 12 at 12 pm ET / 9 am PT for this important conversation.

Register today: https://donate.togetherwomenrise.org/2026-august-afghan-webinar-registration-page