The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
Keeping communities across Afghanistan connected to vital information and humanitarian assistance
Renewed support from the European Union (EU) will help Awaaz Afghanistan continue providing trusted information, connecting people to humanitarian assistance, and giving communities a safe way to make their voices heard.
Implemented by UNOPS, Awaaz Afghanistan is one of the country's largest nationwide accountability and information services. Since launching in 2018 with support from EU Humanitarian Aid and other partners, it has become a trusted point of contact for people seeking humanitarian information, referrals and support, while helping humanitarian organizations better understand community needs and improve their response.
When we listen to the communities we serve, humanitarian action becomes more human and effective. Through the project Awaaz (voices) Afghanistan, UNOPS with partners created a trusted, safe, people-centred communication channel that enables people – including women and girls – to voice their needs, and get access to services.
For many women and girls in Afghanistan, accessing reliable information and humanitarian services can be especially difficult. Through its nationwide hotline, Awaaz provides a confidential and accessible way to seek information, request assistance and connect with protection and gender-based violence services where available. The platform also helps ensure that the experiences and priorities of women and girls inform humanitarian planning and service delivery.
Today, Awaaz works with more than 282 humanitarian and development partners, including United Nations agencies, international and national NGOs and coordination bodies. Available across all 34 provinces, the toll-free hotline provides information on available services, facilitates referrals, collects feedback and channels complaints to the organizations best placed to respond.
Since operations began, Awaaz has received more than 737,000 calls and referred over 24,000 humanitarian assistance cases to partner organizations.
The platform also generates community insights that help humanitarian organizations identify emerging needs, improve the quality of services and strengthen accountability to affected populations.
"Effective humanitarian action starts by listening to the people it is meant to serve. Through our longstanding partnership with Awaaz Afghanistan, we are helping ensure that communities can access reliable information, raise concerns safely and influence the humanitarian response. This strengthens not only accountability, but also the quality and effectiveness of assistance," said François Goemans, Head of EU Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan.
"The EU's sustained partnership has been instrumental in establishing Awaaz Afghanistan as a trusted nationwide accountability mechanism," said Andrew Kirkwood, Interim Director of UNOPS in Afghanistan.
"Awaaz is more than an information service. It helps humanitarian organizations listen to the people they serve and act on what they hear. The EU's continued humanitarian support will allow us to strengthen this shared platform so that communities, humanitarian partners and decision-makers remain connected, helping make assistance more responsive and effective across Afghanistan," he added
As humanitarian needs remain significant across Afghanistan, the EU's continued humanitarian support will enable Awaaz to strengthen partnerships, generate actionable community insights and help ensure that people affected by crisis remain at the centre of humanitarian decision-making.
