Afghanaid is a British charity which was founded in 1983 and has been working in Afghanistan ever since.

It began as a humanitarian relief agency, assisting refugees fleeing the country or displaced internally by the Soviet intervention of 1979. In the mid-1990s it began assisting returning refugees to rebuild their lives. It pioneered a programme of integrated rural development in northern Afghanistan, helping farmers to improve their crop yields and protect their livestock, as well as rebuilding roads and irrigation systems, and working with women and children. In recent years, it has been providing technical support to help farmers to diversify their crops and to build better market links. It is an implementing partner for the Afghan government’s National Solidarity Programme, working in over 2000 villages in four provinces of the country.

Afghanaid has a largely Afghan staff of some 350 people. Its head office is in Kabul and the work is concentrated in the four northern provinces of Badakhshan, Nuristan, Samangan and Ghor.
It has a small office in London, with one full time and two part-time staff, which is mainly involved in fund-raising activities.

The charity’s work is largely funded by institutional donors, though it has a loyal support base in the UK, which provides an important bridge between the two countries. Its budget in 2011/12 is approximately £6 million pounds.