This study commissioned by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and carried out by Tasneem Mowjee and Lydia Poole assesses whether the current aid architecture, funding mechanisms and donor practices are enabling progress towards durable solutions for displacement-affected Afghans and examines which financing approaches can better support durable solutions in Afghanistan.
The report finds that existing aid financing remains largely short-term, fragmented and organised around individual sectors and projects, which limits the ability of aid actors to address the interconnected needs of returnees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and host communities over the longer term. Moreover, existing durable solutions strategies are not guiding donors’ funding decisions and seem to lack clarity on prioritisation, and operational specificity.
It argues that durable solutions in Afghanistan will not be achieved through stand-alone returnee projects or short-term funding mechanisms. Instead, donors should support multi-year, area-based approaches that combine humanitarian assistance, basic human needs, livelihoods and recovery support, while strengthening community ownership.
The report recommends aid actors to support integrated, area-based approaches that target entire displacement-affected communities and enable sustainable reintegration. Financing approaches must also facilitate this shift, adapting to Afghanistan’s political, operational and economic realities.
