Planned Budget (Total)
Other resources (non-core)
Country Indexes
outcome XM-DAC-41146-AFG_O_2
ACO continues to sustain, generate and diversify strategic partnerships and resources to advance gender equality and women’s rights in Afghanistan
The 2023 – 2025 Strategic Note for ACO reflects the revised approach to partnership engagement and resource mobilization, which was also informed by the UN system wide Joint Strategic Framework. ACO maintained regular communication with its donors and partners, including both new and potential donors. In alignment with ACO’s frequent donors’ engagement approach , engagements were organized at the senior level to provide regular briefings on political/context updates as well as UN Women programme pivoting, and progress achieved to date. The regular engagement has helped in building trust with ACO ‘s donors’ and ensuring a sustainable and constructive partnership with our key donors.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-AFG_O_3
ACO’s reputation and operational approach is recognized as able to deliver impact at scale
Throughout 2024, ACO field presence through its five sub offices in Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar, Nangarhar and Balkh remained a crucial enabler in ensuring the impact and robustness of our programmes. The Taliban’s approach to governance is largely decentralized, meaning that provincial authorities have considerable power in how they implement edicts and decrees. For this reason, there are often opportunities to leverage existing exemptions or negotiate new entry points for programming that can reach women and girls at local level. While these agreements are informal and fragile, with variations across sectors and provinces, they have also yielded openings that would not have been otherwise possible. Working in a “grey zone” where relationships at the local level are critical requires presence. As a result, UN Women has strengthened its field presence across 5 regions, increasing staffing capacity across programme, operations and security portfolios. Sub office Operational capacity strengthening efforts were also made, equipping them for effective delivery. Operations teams had intensive hands-on couching/training sessions in sub offices, notably on budget, Procurement and IT.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-AFG_O_4
ACO nurtures an empowered workforce and advances an inclusive UN Women culture capable of delivering together in as a cohesive team able to adapt to the new and emerging operating context
ACO created an environment where an empowered workforce was nurtured. Sessions on stress management, standards of conduct, effective communication and fraud management were conducted, and this was testimony to the efforts towards ensuring cohesion in team spirit. Staff learning initiatives were also implemented and male only catch-up meetings with DCR-O and SR were conducted separately to ensure targeted feedback and awareness and fostering a zero tolerance to any form of abuse. In pursuant to the process of ensuring programme and personnel fit for purpose, ACO had initial consultations with HQ Change Management and RO towards the end of 2024. ACO proceeded with the analysis on HR and Financial resources to ensure proper alignment and rationalization, given the funding landscape. A temporary freeze of all new recruitments and partnerships have been affected pending the oncoming staffing and programming review scheduled for February 2025. Internal resourcing strategies being used to cover unit staffing gaps as much as possible, ensuring cross sharing of staffing across units.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-AFG_O_5
ACO effectively plans for and delivers on UN Women’s GEWE mandate through efficient and coordinated programmatic and strategic planning, and monitoring, evaluation and reporting of results
The whole year of 2024 also marked continued political shift in Afghanistan with increasingly bans and shrinking space for women and women led organizations. The situation has been closely monitored, tracked and documented across programmes and supported informing programming across different thematic areas. On the monitoring, evaluation and reporting fronts , a detailed action plan was developed and implemented. This resulted to 100% of all reports, including donor, Internal UN Women RMS and One UN reports for Afghanistan finalized and timely submitted in year 2024; Improved tracking and validation of programme and project results and overall improved office compliance on donor reporting, internal UN Women reporting and timely evaluations as per UN Women corporate recommendations including policies, guidelines and procedures on planning, monitoring and reporting. On the programme management fronts, the ACO strengthened its adherence to UN Women’s Policy, Procedure, and Guidance frameworks, resulting in enhanced programme management capacity across the team through close collaboration with HQ PMSU and the Regional Office. Training sessions led by Headquarters, the Regional Office, and the Country Office were instrumental in increasing ACO personnel's proficiency with UN Women Systems, Policies, and Procedures. Additionally, targeted, case-specific support was provided to programme units, enabling smoother navigation of programming guidelines. In the second half of 2024, the ACO was also actively involved in discussions around the fast-tracking procedure for programming actions. By collaborating with the Regional Office and HQ, the ACO successfully explored practical applications of this procedure in the context of protracted and humanitarian crises, laying the groundwork for more agile responses in challenging environments. The ACO will continue to explore operational modalities to maintain effectiveness in an increasingly restrictive operating context. As programming activities and partnerships become more localized, ongoing coordination between the thematic work of Sub-Offices and the Country Office in Kabul has ensured alignment, increasing the overall impact of ACO initiatives. In December 2024, the ACO successfully finalized its 2025 Annual Workplan, with the approval of the plan in RMS, ensuring a solid foundation for the year ahead.
outcome XM-DAC-41146-ALB_D_1.1
By 2026, government institutions ensure increased and more equitable investment in people to remove barriers and create opportunities for those at risk of exclusion (UNSDCF Outcome A).
In 2024, significant progress was achieved in strengthening the capacity of central and local government institutions in Albania to deliver gender-responsive services, with tangible results in participatory budgeting, policy reform, and inclusive governance. A key result was the successful engagement of over 772 individuals, including 384 women and girls, in participatory budgeting initiatives across five municipalities—Roskovec, Vora, Divjaka, Konispol, and Maliq. This process led to the launch of 32 civic actions addressing women’s concerns, with 73 percent of issues successfully resolved by local governments, demonstrating a measurable impact on community well-being and inclusion. Policy reform was another critical milestone, with amendments to Law No. 162/2020 on public procurement ensuring that the framework now better addresses the needs of women survivors of violence. These changes also create enhanced opportunities for Civil Society Organizations to deliver specialized services, marking a significant step toward fostering systemic inclusion and gender-responsive governance. Efforts to develop pilot services for women with disabilities further reinforced the institutional capacity to deliver inclusive services. Municipal social service staff were trained to adopt gender-responsive and disability-inclusive approaches, resulting in practical tools and tailored plans to address identified service gaps. These pilots are paving the way for replicable and sustainable models to better support women with disabilities in municipalities across Albania. Capacity-building initiatives continued to strengthen municipal governance frameworks, equipping local officials with skills to utilize gender-disaggregated data and advanced analytical tools. These efforts informed the integration of gender-sensitive priorities into mid-term municipal budget plans, with a focus on economic development, public service enhancement, and accessible infrastructure, ensuring that governance frameworks address the needs of marginalized groups. These achievements align with Albania’s national strategies, including the Social Inclusion and Social Protection Strategy, ensuring that gender equality remains a cornerstone of social policy frameworks. Through these advancements, Albania has made measurable progress in fostering inclusive governance, promoting equity, and addressing the systemic barriers faced by vulnerable groups. UN Women’s efforts have set the foundation for sustained impact, ensuring that institutional reforms translate into meaningful opportunities for those at risk and fostering a more equitable society.Showing 6 - 10 of 10