UNDP Report Warns Afghanistan’s New Development Strategy Won’t Succeed Without Addressing Structural Challenges

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has issued a new report warning that Afghanistan’s national development strategy for the period 2025 to 2030 will only succeed if the country’s structural and fundamental challenges are seriously addressed.

According to the report, this strategy is the first national development plan formulated since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. It aims to provide a framework for allocating limited domestic resources amid a significant decline in international aid.

UNDP emphasized that the lack of structural reforms, weaknesses in executive institutions, and broad restrictions on social and economic participation are among the factors that jeopardize the achievement of the strategy’s goals.

International organizations have repeatedly warned that the policies and restrictions imposed by the Taliban administration, especially in social and economic sectors, have severely diminished Afghanistan’s capacity for sustainable growth and improving the livelihoods of its population.