Finland in Afghanistan

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and has ruled the country since then. The Embassy of Finland in Kabul has been temporarily closed since 2021, and it will close permanently over the course of 2026. After the Taliban takeover, Finland discontinued its bilateral development cooperation with Afghanistan, because cooperation with the Taliban regime is not possible. Finland has targeted development cooperation funds at humanitarian assistance.

Group of girls are walking beside a road. Behind them is a pit with big machines. A new looking car is parked in front of the pit.
In the 21st century more girls attend schools than before. The aim is to safeguard the achievements and the continuity of development also in future, the conditions permitting.

Afghanistan is in the grip of a severe humanitarian and economic crisis. More than half of the country’s 40 million people need humanitarian assistance. Even before the Taliban takeover, prolonged conflicts, poverty, natural disasters, drought-induced crop losses and the COVID-19 pandemic had weakened the country’s humanitarian situation. Humanitarian assistance is essential, but it is not sufficient to meet everyone’s basic needs. 

Millions of Afghan refugees are staying in Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, especially in Pakistan and Iran. In 2023, approximately two million Afghans returned to Afghanistan, including nearly half a million Afghans who had been expelled from Pakistan. The social reintegration of returning refugees is an enormous challenge for Afghanistan. 

Adding to the dire economic and humanitarian situation, the human rights situation is also deeply alarming. Especially the rights and social status of women and girls give cause for concern.

Finland’s current support to Afghanistan

Finland’s bilateral country programme with Afghanistan ended in 2024. Though Finland has reduced its support to Afghanistan, it continues to provide humanitarian assistance and support through civil society organisations. Finland supports the provision of sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls through its long-term partner organisation, MSI Reproductive Choices. Finland channels funding through the UN, other international organisations and civil society organisations. Funds are not channelled via the Taliban regime.

In 2023, Finland’s humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan amounted to EUR 11.5 million. The funding was used to distribute food aid and clean water, to care for malnourished children and to offer protection to refugees, among other measures. Finland has provided humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan throughout the 2000s via the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and via the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Finland and the international community remain committed to a stable and peaceful Afghanistan that respects human rights and upholds the principles of the rule of law. Finland works closely with the UN, the Nordic+ group, the EU and other donors to maximise the coordination and impact of the assistance.

Finland works to ensure that the UN continues to monitor the human rights situation and that human rights organisations can operate in Afghanistan. Finland promotes these goals in forums such as the UN Human Rights Council. 

Long-term results of development cooperation

Afghanistan has been one of Finland's partner countries since 2002. The funding peaked in 2021 at approximately EUR 30 million.

Before the Taliban takeover, Finland’s funding helped to improve children’s access to education, support the provision of basic public services, promote gender equality and strengthen Afghans’ rights and opportunities for family planning.

According to Afghanistan’s development statistics, significant progress had been made by the beginning of 2020, especially in the field of basic education and healthcare: this showed in mothers’ and children’s improved health and lower maternal mortality rates. Sexual and reproductive health services were provided in difficult circumstances at mobile clinics and via a helpline, for example.

  • Supported by Finland, MSI Reproductive Choices succeeded in raising awareness of and promoting family planning. Since 2016, the organisation has offered sexual and reproductive health services to more than 2.1 million Afghans and prevented over 2,000 maternal deaths.
  • The literacy rate for women and girls improved, and an increasing number of girls attended school. In the early 2020s, more than 3.5 million girls attended school, as a contrast to the early 2000s, when hardly any girls had the chance to do so. Investments were made in the education of female teachers: 37 per cent of teachers in basic education were women, which supported opportunities for girls to get education.
  • Government projects, which were funded through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), improved people’s living conditions in tens of thousands of villages. Health stations, schools and roads were constructed to meet peoples’ essential needs.
  • The UNICEF WASH programme in Afghanistan increased access to clean drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene. More than 200,000 people in 123 communities across 21 provinces gained access to clean drinking water, and 526,000 people benefited from improved sanitation.
  • Finland has supported life-saving mine clearance in Afghanistan through the Halo Trust since 2017. It is estimated that by the end of 2024, over 8 million cubic metres of land will have been cleared from mines and returned to use by communities.

Highlights of the Results Report 2021-2024

The Taliban takeover early in the programme period in August 2021 significantly weakened Afghanistan's humanitarian situation. By the end of 2024, already about 23 million Afghans, or half of the country's population, needed humanitarian assistance. The Taliban significantly restricted the lives of women and girls and violated their human rights by denying them the right to education beyond the sixth grade and the right to work, receive protection or move freely, among other things. The situation was compounded by returns carried out by Iran and Pakistan that saw 1.5 million Afghan refugees returned to the country in 2024 alone. Although the economy expanded in 2023–2024, the growth was too modest to make a significant difference in human development.

Finland continued to support Afghans through international organisations. A key channel for supporting their basic needs was the UN Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA). Among other forms of support, it provided income security to 412,000 Afghans, 25 per cent of them women. In addition, 148,000 people benefited from the cash-for-work schemes.

Finland continued to support sexual and reproductive health services through MSI Reproductive Choices, which helped over one million women and girls access vital services. During the programme period, Finland and other donors also supported the survival of a total of 68 million people through the World Food Programme (WFP).