Swedish Committee for Afghanistan

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) is a development organisation that has been present in Afghanistan for more than 40 years, supporting rural communities. Our target groups are women, children and people with disabilities.

Examples of SCA interventions in 2023:

  • 2,5 million patient visits to clinics and hospitals
  • 43,000 acutely malnourished children received treatment
  • 18,000 people with disabilities received orthopedic aids
  • 20,500 people received physiotherapy
  • 6,000 children with disabilities received education
  • 123,000 students attended village schools
  • 64,000 people got access to clean drinking water
  • 11,000 people participated in saving groups to strengthen their income

In 2023, SCA had activities in 16 of Afghanistan’s provinces, and around 7,000 Afghan employees.

SCA is a non-governmental organisation, not linked to any government. SCA receives funding from a wide range of donors, including UN agencies, the EU, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, and private individuals.

We have more than 3,000 members in in Sweden.

History

SCA was founded in protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1981 SCA began to raise funds for humanitarian support for the Afghan people. One year later SCA opened an office in Peshawar, Pakistan, and started to send medicines and equipment to four small clinics in occupied Afghanistan.

In 1984 the first primary school was founded. Three years later, SCA began to work in rural development. The programme for support to people with disabilities started in 1992.

Gradually, SCA has shifted from merely humanitarian service delivery to becoming a development organisation with the vision of an Afghanistan free from poverty, violence, and discrimination.

SCA has now been forced to pause all its activities in Afghanistan following a decree from the Islamic Emirate Afghanistan (IEA). Read more here.