PARTNERSHIP IN ACTION – UNDP AND UNHCR COOPERATION ON FORCED DISPLACEMENT AND STATELESSNESS
3. COLLABORATION IN PRACTICE
ASIA
AFGHANISTAN
Across 2022-2023, UNDP and UNHCR have linked
humanitarian and development actions to benefit
returnees and host communities in 25 priority
geographic areas. The agencies are looking to
extend their collaboration to all 80 priority areas. The
collaboration is built on UNHCR’s Community-based
Protection and Solutions Programme Response (CoPROSPER) and UNDP’s Area-Based Approach for
Development Emergency Initiative (ABADEI).
initiatives provide opportunities for donors to visit
projects virtually and interact with communities in
contexts where there are travel constraints. The
virtual missions are helpful for Steering Committee
members and stakeholders of the Special Trust
Fund for Afghanistan to learn how their support is
impacting people’s lives.
References
Co-PROSPER creates conditions for return in dignity,
for sustainable reintegration of IDP and refugee
returnees, and for IDP co-existence with host
communities in areas identified as Priority Areas of
Return and Reintegration (PARR). It increases service
delivery capacity in sectors such as education,
health, shelter, community infrastructure and water,
sanitation and hygiene. It also supports livelihood
and economic inclusion activities while increasing
investments in green energy and mitigating climate
change. ABADEI supports the delivery of essential
services, providing basic income for people with
special needs, bolstering livelihoods opportunities
through provision of cash grants to small and
medium enterprises, and investing in disaster riskreduction. Women IDPs and returnees in Herat and
IDPs and refugees in Nuristan have benefited from
this collaboration.
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UNHCR, ‘Afghanistan: Priority Areas of Return
and Reintegration,’ August 2023
UNHCR, ‘Impact Stories: Area-Based Approaches for Return, Reintegration, Resilience and
Solutions – Afghanistan, 2022’
UN Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan, ‘Durable
solutions: Building resilience for IDPs and
refugees in Afghanistan,’ videos about UNDP
and UNHCR collaboration for IDPs and refugees
in Herat, Laghman and Nuristan, March 2023
UNDP Afghanistan, ‘UNDP and UNHCR are
working together to support families returning
home for better and sustainable livelihoods,’
video, October 2022
UNDP and UNHCR’s collaboration in Afghanistan
has included a letter of intent and project agreement
in 2021, and deployment of a consultant to develop
a pilot project in Herat. The agencies have also
joined in missions, such as FAO–UNDP–UNHCR
‘virtual missions’ in December 2022 and September
2023 for the SSAR Support Platform. Such
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© UNDP Afghanistan
The collaboration has demonstrated how the HDP
nexus can be put into practice in Afghanistan, and it
is encouraging partnerships with other organisations
too. The collaboration is in line with the three pillars
of the long-standing regional Solutions Strategy
for Afghan Refugees (SSAR) and its international
Support Platform, namely (i) creating conditions
conducive to voluntary returns, (ii) building refugee
capital based on livelihood opportunities, and (iii)
enhancing support for host communities.
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