Three decades of conflict have left Afghanistan as one of the world’s poorest countries, with 14 million rural Afghans living without access to safe water and 50,000 children dying each year from diarrhea alone. What limited resources the country does have are strained further by the return of over five million refugees since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001 together with the large number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of insecurity and drought amongst other causes.

DACAAR is committed to improving the livelihoods of rural Afghan communities and envisages an Afghanistan where all Afghan men, women and children are able to effectively and sustainably manage local resources, improve their own quality of life and withstand periods of calamity and stress.

Since our initial relief project in 1984, a sewing centre for female Afghan refugees living in Peshawar, Pakistan, we have expanded our geographical reach, and to date our activities have benefited people in need across 27 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. But our work is not yet over. Rural Afghan communities still need our help to provide them and their families with a bright, sustainable and self-sufficient future. To ensure this vision, DACAAR remains committed to extending its water and sanitation projects along with sustainable livelihoods activities to those most in need, where access so allows.

All our activities are coordinated within a binary programme structure, composed of a Water and Sanitation Programme and a Rural Development Programme.