{"id":10826,"date":"2026-10-22T08:04:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/?p=10826"},"modified":"2026-10-22T08:04:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:04:35","slug":"we-must-not-turn-our-backs-on-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/news\/we-must-not-turn-our-backs-on-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Cordaid CEO: \u2018We Must Not Turn Our Backs on Afghanistan\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"section section--core \"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-8 offset-md-2 block-wrapper\"><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><strong>Following her recent visit to Afghanistan, Cordaid CEO Heleen van den Berg is urging the international community not to abandon the Afghan people. \u2018We can do far more for Afghan women, men and children. So make better use of independent organisations like Cordaid.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-546x363.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-373x248.jpg 373w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-280x186.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA-66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-a-maize-farm-in-Shaista-Khail-Village-Kot-District-where-Agriculture-Hybrid-Maize-Seeds-are-being-used-RRAA.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cordaid CEO Heleen van den Berg (second from left), programme director Claudine Mensah Awute and humanitarian programme manager Susanne Heukensfeldt Jansen speak with a staff member of an Afghan partner organisation at a project site in Nangarhar. Photo: Ali Omid Taqdisyan\/Cordaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With funding from the Dutch government, Cordaid coordinates the Dutch Relief Alliance (<a href=\"https:\/\/afjr.dutchrelief.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DRA<\/a>) emergency response programme in Afghanistan, as well as programmes providing mental health and psychosocial support and physical rehabilitation for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van den Berg visited projects in Nangarhar province in September and spoke with residents, aid workers, colleagues, local partners and authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Watch this video of Cordaid CEO Heleen van den Berg\u2019s visit to Afghanistan<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\n<div class=\"oembed-component\" data-module=\"oembed\" data-source=\"consent_embed_youtube\" data-type=\"video\" data-cookiebot=\"1\">\n\t<div class=\"oembed-component__content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"oembed-placeholder\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"oembed-placeholder__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<p>This content is available after accepting the cookies.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<button class=\"btn\n\tbtn--primary js-consent-button\"        type=\"video\"  >\n\t\n\t\t\t<span class=\"btn__text\">\n\t\t\tChange cookie-settings\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<template>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"oembed-video\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"oembed-video__thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/3xX2IL9MzRk?si=MJnlGpMrP389jBau\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t<div class=\"oembed-video__content\">\n\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u2018We Must Not Turn Our Backs on Afghanistan\u2019 | Cordaid\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3xX2IL9MzRk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"oembed-video__play\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\n\t\t\t\t\tPlay video\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/template>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018What stays with me most is how quiet the streets are. The war is over, and security seems to have improved. But a strange feeling hangs over everything: you see almost only men. And you hear no music anywhere. You constantly find yourself thinking: where have all the women gone?\u2019 says Van den Berg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018And beneath the relative calm, I saw above all a society under enormous strain, caused by extreme drought, climate change, repression and poverty.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--546x363.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--373x248.jpg 373w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--280x186.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC--66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A doctor at a Cordaid-supported clinic helps a patient with a prosthetic leg. Photo: Ali Omid Taqdisyan\/Cordaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Crises Piling Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost half the population, 23 million Afghans, needs humanitarian assistance. Only a fraction of the necessary funding is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, extreme drought and climate change are undermining agriculture and water supplies even further. Floods and earthquakes are devastating communities and farmland. On top of this, more than six million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan since 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No Space Left for Women<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there is the Taliban regime, which affects everyone, and women and girls in particular. A female Cordaid colleague told Van den Berg that her six-year-old son constantly mimics shooting and shouts: \u2018I\u2019m going to kill, I\u2019m going to kill, I\u2019m going to be a Talib.\u2019 She finds it increasingly hard to guide her son, now that education has become more fundamentalist even for children of that age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A nurse Van den Berg met was one of the last women to obtain a qualification. She spoke about the past: playing sport, kicking a football about with her father, going outdoors and studying. All those freedoms: gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Female nurses can still work with female patients, but they must reckon with the morality police whenever they travel, and they cannot leave the house without a <em>mahram<\/em>, a male escort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The consequences are also visible in healthcare. \u2018Because women are not allowed to train, not even as midwives, even more women are giving birth at home in appalling conditions. Maternal mortality is therefore soaring.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van den Berg believes it is essential that Afghan female aid workers and nurses can continue working and that girls can continue their education. \u2018If you don\u2019t allow that, you simply cannot reach the most vulnerable group in Afghanistan. You are leaving them behind.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-546x363.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-373x248.jpg 373w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-280x186.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA-66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-Septemer-2026-\u2014-Gull-Sharng-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Income-Generation-Activity-in-Bati-Kood-RRAA.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">One of the female participants in a project that helps women gain greater financial independence. Photo: Ali Omid Taqdisyan\/Cordaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The World is Pulling Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While crises pile up and needs grow, international support for Afghanistan has fallen drastically since 2021. Broad development aid has been all but suspended, and humanitarian funding is also coming under growing pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is part of a wider global decline. In 2025, official development assistance from donor countries fell by 23.1 per cent and humanitarian aid by 35.8 per cent. Budgetary pressures, geopolitical tensions, higher spending on defence and security, and a shift towards domestic priorities all play a part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Van den Berg sees a dangerous paradox: as the world becomes less safe, the willingness to invest in countries where fragility and instability are greatest is shrinking. \u2018An Afghanistan that sinks further into poverty, where young people have no prospects and where women are entirely driven out of public life, will not become more stable by our paying it less attention.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stability in Afghanistan and other fragile countries is also in the interests of the Netherlands and Europe, Van den Berg believes. \u2018By offering people prospects and preventing crises from escalating further, you reduce the likelihood of instability spreading.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Emergency Relief and Offering Perspective<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During her visit, Van den Berg saw what cooperation between Dutch and Afghan aid organisations can achieve. Floods and extreme drought had turned farmland into barren expanses of stone and sand. With DRA support, water distribution systems have been built, and these are now used by dozens of communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds of young people have received vocational training. Small entrepreneurs are receiving support, and farmers are learning how to protect themselves against climate change. In remote areas, small clinics provide basic healthcare and mental health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is emergency aid that goes beyond immediate need: aid that gives people the prospects to rebuild their lives. \u2018It is about helping people to do more than merely survive. To widen their prospects,\u2019 says Van den Berg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it is precisely this broader support that is becoming harder to provide as international funding for Afghanistan declines. As a result, Cordaid too has had to scale down its Afghanistan office substantially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018That is the painful dilemma: so much more needs to be done, and at the same time political will, attention and financial support for Afghanistan are evaporating.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--546x363.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--373x248.jpg 373w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--280x186.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA--66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/15-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Helen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-canal-cleaning-work-in-Dawani-Village-Kot-District-RRAA-.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A \u2018Cash for Work\u2019 project in Nangarhar. Participants, often displaced people, can work for a set period and earn an income. Photo: Ali Omid Taqdisyan\/Cordaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Working Within the Remaining Space<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Working in Afghanistan means operating in difficult conditions. The Taliban want to check in advance how, where and with whom organisations work. Permission is required to access certain areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018The tension is enormous. But Cordaid is sticking to its own course. We work according to humanitarian principles, we determine our programming with our partners, and we do not adjust it. We work with local Afghan partners and international organisations, not with or for the Afghan authorities,\u2019 stresses the Cordaid CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Holding on to its own principles makes the work more complicated and sometimes more expensive. For example, Cordaid continues to employ Afghan women, even if this means compensating for the lost income of a man who is obliged to accompany his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Working in Afghanistan is a tightrope walk,\u2019 says Van den Berg. \u2018And we are managing to stay upright.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is precisely this independent position that makes civil society organisations so valuable, according to Van den Berg. \u2018Cordaid is not a government. We do not engage in politics or diplomacy, but work directly with Afghan communities and local organisations. We can work for the Afghan people without recognising the regime.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-546x363.jpg 546w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-373x248.jpg 373w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-280x186.jpg 280w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC-66x44.jpg 66w, https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/16-September-2026-\u2014-Ms.-Heleen-and-Ms.-Claudine-visit-the-Hadaaf-Resilience-Center-in-Malakan-Village-Rodat-District-CRC.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Country director Sayed Latif Bashardorst (second from left) and Heleen van den Berg during a visit to a mental health clinic in Nangarhar. Photo: Ali Omid Taqdisyan\/Cordaid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Make Better Use of Us\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Van den Berg therefore has a clear message for the Netherlands and other international donors: make use of the space that still exists in Afghanistan, and give civil society organisations the resources to operate within it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Do not turn your back on Afghanistan. And understand that supporting the Afghan people is not the same as recognising the Afghan regime.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to her, this means not only more emergency aid, but also investing in healthcare, mental health care, support for people with disabilities, education, entrepreneurship and resilience to climate change. Above all, continuing to look for ways to reach women and girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018That is not political work. It is impartial, independent humanitarian work for and with people who want nothing more than simply to be able to live.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cordaid has a decades-long history in Afghanistan, with local networks, knowledge and trust. \u2018And Cordaid has never left Afghanistan, not even in the most difficult moments,\u2019 stresses Van den Berg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That position makes it possible to make a difference even under the Taliban. \u2018We do more than provide aid. Together with our local partners, we are keeping that Afghan civil society space open.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this is ultimately what Van den Berg\u2019s appeal to the Dutch government and international donor organisations comes down to: \u2018Make better use of organisations like Cordaid to fill the limited space that exists to reach out to Afghan women, men and children. We have everything we need to do more, much more.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"section\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-8 offset-md-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"page-links\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"col-12 col-sm-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"page-links__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/countries\/afghanistan\/\" class=\"btn btn btn--more page-links__link\"  >\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"btn__text\">\n\t\t\t\tMore on our work in Afghanistan\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"icon icon-chevron-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"section\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-12 col-md-8 offset-md-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"page-links\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"col-12 col-sm-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"page-links__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/afjr.dutchrelief.org\/\" class=\"btn btn btn--more page-links__link\"  >\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"btn__text\">\n\t\t\t\tMore on the DRA in Afghanistan\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"btn__icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"icon icon-chevron-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"section section--core \"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-12 col-md-8 offset-md-2 block-wrapper\"><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following her recent visit to Afghanistan, Cordaid CEO Heleen van den Berg is urging the international community not to abandon the Afghan people. \u2018We can do far more for Afghan women, men and children. So make better use of independent organisations like Cordaid.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic_tax":[11],"country_tax":[7],"class_list":["post-10826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic_tax-humanitarian-assistance","country_tax-afghanistan"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cordaid CEO: \u2018We Must Not Turn Our Backs on Afghanistan\u2019 - Cordaid International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Following her recent visit to the country, Cordaid CEO Heleen van den Berg is urging the international community not to abandon Afghanistan.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cordaid.org\/en\/news\/we-must-not-turn-our-backs-on-afghanistan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cordaid CEO: \u2018We Must Not Turn Our Backs on Afghanistan\u2019 - 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