March 29, 2020 - Founded in Afghanistan in 1993 and present in the country since then, ACTED builds on more than 27 years of commitment to provide humanitarian and development assistance to Afghan communities. Today, in the wake of an epidemic that could leave a country exhausted by 40 years of war in an even more desperate situation, ACTED Afghanistan is mobilizing all its teams to respond to an unprecedented crisis.
ACTED’s continued access to areas in need and its ability to provide assistance where others do not usually go has made the NGO a major aid actor in Afghanistan. Thanks to this unprecedented access, ACTED is able to reach urban, rural and remote communities to raise awareness and disseminate essential messages, as well as to explain basic hygiene and social distancing measures.
Based on its experience, some alternative programmes are already being implemented, such as distance learning for primary education, through mobile education or radio programmes. But in a country where health services are in difficulty, ACTED is mobilized to help fight against this epidemic.
Fabricating masks to help stop the epidemic
ACTED’s vocational training centres are generally used to provide physical space, protect the most vulnerable and give marginalized populations a chance to participate in educational and vocational training. However, as the number of cases of Covid-19 is increasing across the country and the number of masks available is largely insufficient, ACTED mobilizes its teams and beneficiaries to produce masks for distribution.
More than 10 000 masks fabricated
Thanks to four vocational training centres, 10,000 masks have already been produced to date. ACTED aims to distribute masks to 20,000 people over the next week, while organizing awareness campaigns on Covid-19 and prevention measures. These masks will be distributed mainly to shopkeepers, taxi drivers, delivery drivers, street cleaners and any other street workers, in order to avoid the spread of the pandemic, but also to people vulnerable to an epidemic, such as the one that has just broken out in neighbouring Iran.
Expanding production and reaching communities
In the coming weeks, ACTED Afghanistan aims to significantly increase production in all Northern provinces in order to help more people in this critical period. This increase will be facilitated by the platforms created in 58 manteqas (traditional solidarity areas) in the provinces of Faryab, Balkh, Jawzjan and Samangan to mobilize, sensitize and assist communities.
In this period of Covid-19 pandemic, ACTED Afghanistan remains committed and ready to adapt to this emergency situation in order to support the most vulnerable in the country. It is our duty to act together and contribute to support the most vulnerable.