Afghanistan

Following the relative stabilisation of the humanitarian situation after August 2021 and the corresponding transition from active conflict to a protracted post-conflict context, the Humanitarian Coordinator initiated a review of Afghanistan’s humanitarian coordination architecture in November 2024, ahead of the current funding crisis. This process was designed to ensure that humanitarian coordination arrangements remain fit for purpose, proportionate to evolving needs and focused on maximising life-saving impact.

An initial internal light-touch review was followed by a Peer-to-Peer mission in April 2025, which assessed existing coordination mechanisms and proposed practical options to streamline and right-size the architecture. A dedicated multi-stakeholder task team was subsequently established to translate these recommendations into phased, actionable reforms, with a focus on strengthening efficiency, impact and accountability. This country-level effort has been closely aligned with global consultations on the future of the humanitarian system, including the cluster approach.¹

Building on cluster self-reviews conducted in July 2025, a set of HCT-endorsed reforms, aligned with global agreements, are now under implementation. These include the integration of the CCCM Working Group and the Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Area of Responsibility (AoR) under the ES/NFI Cluster, and the incorporation of the Gender-Based Violence, Child Protection and Mine Action AoRs within the Protection Cluster. These changes are intended to reduce fragmentation, improve coherence, and strengthen operational linkages across related functions.

At the sub-national level, overlapping coordination structures have been streamlined through the discontinuation of Regional Humanitarian Teams (RHTs) and Regional Inter-Cluster Coordination Groups (R-ICCGs), which are being replaced by RTs that bring together humanitarian and BHN actors. At the provincial level, OCTs composed of humanitarian partners remain in place to preserve flexible and rapid area-based coordination capacity for sudden-onset emergencies.

Several thematic working groups have also been consolidated into fewer, more cohesive platforms, including a unified DWG and a merged AIWG. The GiHA was expanded to include BHN actors working on the same subject matter to ensure a more efficient and coherent coordination architecture. Other platforms have been discontinued as standing mechanisms where appropriate, with the option for ad-hoc activation based on operational need.

Collectively, these adjustments aim to reduce process-heavy coordination, improve internal and external efficiencies and enable greater focus on operational decision-making and delivery. They are also intended to strengthen collaboration between humanitarian and BHN actors and support a more joined-up, whole-of-response approach. Advancing localisation is a central pillar of the Humanitarian Reset. In consultation with NGO partners, greater emphasis is being placed on national and international NGOs assuming active leadership roles within the RTs, bringing frontline operational perspectives closer to strategic coordination.

Efforts are also under way to increase direct allocations from pooled funds to national partners, who are often best positioned to deliver timely and contextually appropriate assistance. In 2025, 84 per cent of Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund allocations were channelled to NGOs, including 36 per cent to national NGOs. Three national NGOs, one of which is women-led and one disability-focused, sit on the HCT, alongside an Afghan woman representative from the WAG.

The revision of the coordination architecture is close to finalization, with work under way to finalize terms of reference for new and adjusted structures, clarify roles and responsibilities and establish relevant operational arrangements. Full roll-out is expected at the beginning of 2026. While implementation of the revised humanitarian architecture has commenced, further re-conceptualisation of the BHN coordination architecture remains in progress. More structured collaboration between humanitarian and BHN coordination mechanisms will be essential to support coherent transition pathways and a gradual reduction in the humanitarian portfolio. Joined-up sectoral platforms will play a central role in strengthening a

whole-of-response approach, with a broader framework for nexus-oriented coordination expected to be articulated end of 2025.