Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, HI plays a crucial role in providing physical rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities and in supporting the inclusion initiatives.
Kandahar rehabilitation center | © Jaweed Tanveer / HI
Our actions
HI has long supported physical rehabilitation centers in several provinces. These centers provide essential services, including physical and functional rehabilitation, mental health and psychosocial support, the provision of prostheses and orthoses, and mobility aids (e.g., wheelchairs and crutches). They also offer follow-up care, repair of assistive products, and referral services.
HI currently runs several livelihood projects in the provinces of Kunduz, Bamyan, Kunar, and Nangarhar. These projects support persons with disabilities, internally displaced people, female-headed households, and households that lost their economic activity in the August 2025 earthquake. On the ground, HI helps beneficiaries rebuild their economic independence through several types of support: vocational training, enabling people to learn practical skills; distribution of livelihood kits, including tools and equipment needed to start small businesses; and individual coaching and follow-up, helping individuals develop sustainable economic activities.
HI also works with humanitarian organizations to make NGO programs more inclusive and accessible by providing awareness sessions on disability inclusion, as well as training and capacity-building for humanitarian staff.
HI conducts explosive ordnance risk education activities in Kunduz and Herat provinces. These sessions take place in villages, schools, and agricultural areas. The program focuses on populations most at risk, including farmers working in contaminated fields, children, scrap metal collectors, and returnees from Iran and Pakistan.
Areas of intervention
Latest stories
Knee braces and a bus fare put Sabira back on her feet
Six physical therapy sessions and a pair of braces fixed chronic knee pain. She now can walk in her garden again.
Aid cuts: Asma, who relearned how to walk, is left with no support
Rehabilitation had enabled Asma to leave her wheelchair and walk again. The program has since closed, and she is now stuck at home with no way to pay for care.
For Mohammad, prosthetic repairs now cost a 60 mile trip and a loan
In the Kandahar countryside, a rehabilitation center has closed, with serious consequences for people with disabilities.
a life
Background
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world and has been devastated by more than four decades of conflict, repeated climate disasters, chronic poverty, and food insecurity. Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the country has faced a severe economic crisis and a sharp decline in international funding, leaving millions of people dependent on humanitarian aid.
Today, Afghanistan is experiencing one of the world's most severe hunger crises. Around 17.4 million people — more than one third of the population — are facing acute food insecurity, while 4.9 million women and children are expected to experience malnutrition in 2026.
Cuts in humanitarian funding have forced aid agencies to significantly scale back their assistance, leaving many families without support. The humanitarian situation is further aggravated by climate-related shocks, including droughts, floods, and earthquakes. In addition, millions of Afghans have been forced to return from neighboring countries, such as Iran and Pakistan, in recent years, placing further strain on already overstretched communities and humanitarian services.
Afghanistan also remains one of the world's largest displacement crises. Millions of Afghans continue to live as refugees abroad, mainly in Iran and Pakistan, while many others are internally displaced due to conflict, natural disasters, and economic hardship.
- Number of HI staff members: 480
- Date the program opened: 1987
