2015 AND FINAL ACCOUNTS€¦ · 5 SCA | ANNUAL REPORT & FINAL ACCOUNTS THE SWEDISH COMMITTEE FOR...

ANNUAL REPORTAND FINAL ACCOUNTS2015

CONTENTS

EDITOR | KLAS BJURSTRÖM

LAYOUT | MARKUS HÅKANSSON

COVER PHOTO | BJÖRN LINDH

PRINTED IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

ANNUAL REPORT A word from the Chairperson_________________________________3 Mission, vision and core values_______________________________4 What SCA wants to achieve__________________________________5 Means, activities and results in brief___________________________6 Afghanistan 2015__________________________________________8

Objective 1 | Access to Health Services_________________________12 Objective 2 | Access to Education_____________________________18 Objective 3 | Secure Rural Livelihoods_________________________24 Objective 4 | Community Governance__________________________28 Objective 5 | Public and Political Commitment___________________32 Conflict, risk and security___________________________________36 Corruption and crime______________________________________38 Internal development of SCA________________________________40 Global structure of SCA_____________________________________41 Staff____________________________________________________42 The Board______________________________________________43

FINAL ACCOUNTS Administration report_______________________________________46 Income statement_________________________________________52 Balance sheet____________________________________________53 Cash flow statement_______________________________________54 Notes___________________________________________________55 Audit report______________________________________________65 Association auditors report__________________________________66

TOGETHER...we can give people power over their development and their lives. We are happy to answer any questions you may have regarding our operations in Afghanistan or this report – do not hesitate to contact us! Send an e-mail to [email protected]

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SCA | ANNUAL REPORT & FINAL ACCOUNTS

THE SWEDISH COMMITTEE FOR AFGHANISTAN (SCA) acts within what is o�en referred to as the small world – the family and relatives, friends, the local community and close net-works. Examples of this are locally run community-based schools, community midwives and sta� who work with home-based rehabilitation. SCA is a part of this small world and we try our best to tell the big world – institutions, governments and organizations – what happens and which results are achieved through the activities. We have been doing this for a generation, 2015 was no exception, and we note that the image of reality in these two worlds is very di�erent.

�e big world in Sweden has in 2015 seen a much larger number of refugees than ear-lier, which will change the conditions for the work of SCA in the future.

�e development in Afghanistan has made it increasingly di�cult to ful�ll our com-mitments. Work is simply more time-consuming and complicated. But we are also indi-rectly a�ected even when we are not the target for violence. �e most �agrant incident was just in February this year, when Afghan security forces entered one of our clinics in Wardak, brought out and shot dead three persons, one of whom was a ��een-year-old boy. �is was a very grave breach of the Geneva Convention.

�e uncertain situation means that the Afghan economy is not developing as many want and hope, not least ourselves. Naturally, the widespread corruption also contributes to weakening the economy. SCA has zero tolerance towards corruption. As a result, SCA constantly sees how e�orts are hampered. We do not receive permits fast enough, med-icine and other goods are stuck for too long at customs and our sta� face external pres-sure on a daily basis.

When the international development work was at its peak, coinciding with the large pre-sence of foreign troops, SCA was perhaps not a very interesting orga-

nization to extort. But now, as fewer players remain in Afghanistan, we are prepared for more pressure.

In other words, in the big world, the future does not appear very bright. But when we summarize 2015 and our work in the small world, we see clear progress. We are halfway through our

Strategic Plan period (2014-17), and can report on progress in health, education, livelihoods, empowerment and participation.

We can report on a vibrant membership movement in Sweden that is aware of and takes responsibility for the developments in

Afghanistan – but also for the refugees coming to Sweden.I hope that this Annual Report will convey a brighter perspective to its readers. Our members, sta� and the

people in rural Afghanistan want to keep developing the small world for at least another generation. ■

Peder JonssonChairperson, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan

ONE GENERATION AND THE NEXT

A WORD FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

sence of foreign troops, SCA was perhaps not a very interesting organization to extort. But now, as fewer players remain in Afghanistan,

we are prepared for more pressure.In other words, in the big world, the future does not appear

very bright. But when we summarize 2015 and our work in the small world, we see clear progress. We are halfway through our

Strategic Plan period (2014-17), and can report on progress in health, education, livelihoods, empowerment and participation.

We can report on a vibrant membership movement in Sweden that is aware of and takes responsibility for the developments in

Afghanistan – but also for the refugees coming to Sweden.I hope that this Annual Report will convey a brighter perspective to its readers. Our members, sta� and the

people in rural Afghanistan want to keep developing the small world for at least another generation.

Peder JonssonChairperson, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan

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MISSION, VISION AND CORE VALUESVISION | AN AFGHANISTAN FREE FROM POVERTY, VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION

MISSION | GIVING PEOPLE POWER OVER THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND THEIR LIVES

SCA IS CHARACTERIZED BY

The vision of SCA is an Afghanistan free from poverty, violence and discrimination, where human rights are respected and all live in dignity, enjoy equal opportunity and social justice.

The mission of SCA is to empower individuals, communities and local organizations, primarily in rural areas and with a particular focus on women, girls, boys and vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, so that they may participate fully in society and influence their own development. SCA will achieve this by working closely with communities, local and natio-nal civil society organizations and relevant levels of government, and by combining capacity development, advocacy and service provision.

■ Respect for the Afghan people’s right to self-determination. ■ Equal treatment of people regardless of religion, gender or ethnicity. ■ Knowledge and understanding of culture and religion in Afghanistan, as well as respect for the importance of cultural and religious values in people’s lives.

■ Compliance with universal human rights.

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1. HEALTHEquitable access to and utilisation of health services by women, children, persons with disabilities and rural communities.

2. EDUCATIONEqual access to quality educational opportunities.

3. RURAL LIVELIHOODSWomen, persons with disabilities and vulnerable rural households are making a secure means of living that provides resilience against shocks and emergencies.

4. COMMUNITY GOVERNANCECommunity members are actively engaged in decision-making, influencing the development of their communities and are able to hold relevant stakeholders to account.

5. PUBLIC AND POLITICAL COMMITMENTPublic and political commitment in Sweden and in Europe for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

WHAT SCA WANTS TO ACHIEVE

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SCA IN BRIEF 2015HEALTH CARE

MIDWIFE AND NURSE EDUCATION

REHABILITATION

WELLS AND CONSTRUCTION

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS

TAJIKISTANUZBEKISTAN

CONSTRUCTION

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS

TATAT JAJA IKISTATAT NUZBEKISTATATN

WardakNangarhar

Khost

Paktia

Logar

Paktika

Ghazni

Bamiyan

Baghlan

Samangan

Balkh Kunduz

Takhar

Badakshan

NuristanPanjshir

ParwanKapisa

Kabul

Ghor

Dai Kundi

ZabulHelmand

Laghman

Kunar

Jowzjan

Sar-e-Pul

Faryab

285 village councils in rural areas completed development projects in cooperation with SCA during the year. The traditional forum for decision-making in Afghanistan is the Shura, local or village coun-cils where mainly men gather, discuss and decide on matters of shared interest. A lot of the work of SCA is undertaken jointly with these shuras, an example being that all schools are connected to an edu-cation council. A condition that must be met for SCA to support a council is that women participate in the councils or that there are separate councils for men and women.

2,347,066 patients were treated at the clinics and hospitals of SCA. Out of those, 37,700 were women given maternal care.

68,654 children went to schools supported by SCA. Out of those 62% were girls. Despite schools often being under threat, the demand for education is very high in the villages where SCA work.

SCHOOLS

16,260 persons with disability were treated with physiotherapy. 13,766 persons were supplied with various orthopedic devices. An increasing number of patients are referred to SCA’s clinics for rehabilitation.

* Regional Management Offices** Liaison Offices

Kabul Management Office is situated in the capital

Kabul

Faizabad

Taloqan*

Jalalabad*Mehtarlam**Maidan Shahr*

Ghazni*

Kunduz**Mazar-e-Sharif*Sheberghan

P A K I S

T A

N

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THE ONGOING CONFLICT has many consequences. Decre-asing security makes recruiting staff, especially women, increasingly difficult. This impacts the right of girls to education and maternal care. Insecurity hampers follow-up, logistics and the possibility of our staff to move, but can also lead to patients not daring to seek health care or that children are denied education.

MEMBERS AND STAFF

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT is a principal focus, which includes assisting communities and shuras (the local community councils) to organise and mobilise, as well as local civil society and authorities.

SERVICE DELIVERY will remain an absolute necessity for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing conflict and the limited capacity of the government, especially at district and province level. But services such as health care and education also contribute to platforms upon which capacity building can take place.

ADVOCACY is a means both to achieve change through policies and law, but also for our local partners to support the voices of our target groups; rural communities, women, children and persons with disability.

IN 2015, SCA had 3,685 members in 12 local committees in Sweden and one in Afghanistan

By the end of the year SCA employed 5,166 persons in Afghanistan and 19 in Sweden.

Only 0,6% of all staff are Swedish or other non-Afghans.

MEANS, ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS

SECURITY – ONE OF MANY CHALLENGES

DONORS (million USD)

2003200420052006200720082009201020112012

250

200

150

100

50

0

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

20015050 100

106 148

139 156

147144 148

183 179

229

Sida | 21.4

World Bank | 0.9

Ministry of public health, Afghanistan | 5.7

Members and the public | 2.4

Others | 3.4USE OF RESOURCES (million USD)

2003200420052006200720082009201020112012

250

200

150

100

50

0

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

20015050 100

106 148

139 156

147144 148

183 179

229

Access to health care | 11.0

Acess to quality education | 8.8

Rural livelihoods | 1.2

Public and political commitment | 1.4

Cross-cutting activities, capacity development, information, human rights & gender | 9.1

Community governance | 1.7

MEMBERS AND STAFF

persons with disability.

IN 2015, SCA had 3,685 members in 12 local committees in Sweden and one in Afghanistan

By the end of the year SCA employed 5,166 persons in Afghanistan and 19 in Sweden.

Only 0,6% of all staff are Swedish or other non-Afghans.

DONORS (million USD)

World Bank | 0.9

Ministry of public health, Afghanistan | 5.7

Members and the public | 2.4

P A K I S

T A

N

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AFGHANISTAN | 2015 Afghanistan entered 2015 against a backdrop of two significant events; the peaceful transition of power with Ashraf Ghani succeeding Hamid Karzai as president, along with the withdrawal of international forces, as the ISAF military mission ended on December 31, 2014. Although there were fears of instability, these events were largely held in positive view. However, looking back at the end of the year, they stand in stark contrast to the actual overall political and economic development of 2015, along with the continued violence.

Military spending paired with development aid has fueled the Afghan economy since 2002. While much has improved in recent years in terms of infrastructure, not to mention

access to basic services such as education and health care, the withdrawal of foreign troops and the transition from a war economy to a civil economy has been painful. �e level of investments has been declining ever since 2010, but the drop in 2015 was dramatic.

If Kabul fared well with a 10% increase in invest-ments, some provinces saw falls of more than 80%, hit-ting the poorer rural population very hard. According to the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, in one year the construction sector saw a 58% decline and the agricul-ture sector 14 % nationwide leading to a rise in unemploy-ment. �e consequences for the poorest and most margi-nalized people are tangible, and the level of poverty did not decrease in 2015. Lack of employment and income opportunities remains the biggest challenge for most.

EXPECTATIONS AND REALITYFormation of the so-called National Unity Government and the power-sharing of rivals Ashraf Ghani and Abdul-lah Abdullah was largely viewed as a pragmatic way for-

ward. In January, a�er months of negotiation, Presi-dent Ghani presented a cabinet of 25 ministers. Howe-ver, only 8 of them were approved by the Wolesi Jirga (the Lower House Parliament), causing a continued stand-still in many government institutions. Some institutions remain in the hands of acting o�cials, also those who are to investigate and prosecute key corruption cases. �is is also a telling example of the challenges facing the govern-ment, even before being able to actually implement its policies – and expectations were high.

To many, the government’s ambitions and initial opti-mism of economic development during the year appeared to be increasingly distant from the daily reality of unem-ployment, increasing corruption and declining revenues.

REGIONAL OUTREACHAshraf Ghani set o� 2015 by broadening outreach in the region, signing trade and customs agreements with Pakis-tan. �e President invested political capital in change and strengthening economic and political relations, but also demanded that Pakistan strike down on Taliban operating from their side of the border.

Contacts were frequent with China and Turkmenis-tan. Agreements were signed aimed to boost the economy

THE ROAD from Mazar-e-Sharif to Samangan.

PHOTO | MALIN HOELSTAD

World Bank predicts the Afghan growth in 2015 to be 1.9%, after several years at 5-10% annually.

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of Afghanistan, secure both energy supply and a shared incentive for peace through regional projects such as the TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline. �e TAPI pipeline has been under discussion for over a decade, but hopes are that it will be completed in late 2017. Signi�cantly, Pakistan’s Minister of Defense, Khwaja Asif, stated that he will use Pakistan’s in�uence with the Taliban to ensure the pipeline’s protection.

China plays an increasingly important role in the region. Interested in natural resources, transportation routes and trade, along with Russia, it is weary of extre-mist groups that could quickly spread both towards Rus-sia and into China. Likely, this fear also comes into play for Russia in their decision to supply arms to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). �e importance of geo-political interests is not lessening.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTDuring 2015, the Tokyo Mutual Framework Agreement of 2012 was replaced by the new Self-Reliance through Mutual Accountability Framework.

Many objectives are de�ned in the framework, notably improving security and political stability, anti-corruption e�orts, governance, rule of law and human rights. But also commitments to restore �scal sustainability and trust in the banking sector, along with private sector development and demands on aid e�ectiveness.

Crucially, the framework spells out the demand on the international community to support the developmen-tal priorities identi�ed by the government, but also the Afghan government’s obligation to deliver what is mutu-ally agreed.

AFTER ISAFAs the ISAF combat mission ended, the international Reso-lute Support Mission was launched. Comprising of 42 countries led by NATO, it is a non-combat mission tasked to train, advice and support the Afghan National Security Forces. US combat and counter terrorism missions conti-nued under the new banner Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

It is apparent that although the Afghan National Secu-rity Forces by far outnumber the combined armed oppo-sition groups, their leadership, training and equipment is far from su�cient. �roughout the year, Afghan security forces alone are reported to have seen more than 8,000 dead and 12,000 injured. Despite recruiting and training, the National Army has lost one third of its troops during the year, when combining deaths, injuries and the large number of desertions.

�e level of con�ict generally remained at the high level seen in 2014, with a complex and shi�ing pattern of vio-lence from armed oppositions groups. Tactics continue to include suicide attacks and assaults on mainly military and governmental targets, o�en at province and district level.

Groups claiming allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) continued to grow, mainly in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. IS is a serious concern for both the government and the Taliban, as the latter see IS as a threat to the future of their own organization and have been involved in regular �ghting with the IS. Videos are also emerging of IS killing Taliban members, adopting the horri�c methods used in Syria and Iraq.

MULLAH OMAR DEAD In end of July, news spread of the death of Mullah Omar, leader of the Taliban for more than two decades. Even though he had been dead for more than two years, the news caused a halt for initial peace talks as well as disorder within the Taliban. �e Taliban soon con�rmed the death of Mul-lah Omar and announced Mullah Akhtar Mansour as his successor, albeit not without internal disagreement.

�e most remarkable phase of the con�ict in 2015 was in September when Taliban forces mounted an attack against the provincial capital Kunduz, capturing and holding it for several days, despite being outnumbered by government forces. A demonstration of the resolve and strength of the new Taliban leadership, both government and internatio-nal observers were taken aback by the attack, also clearly displaying the shortcomings of the ANSF. Kunduz was badly a�ected with many reported human rights viola-

Always a factor in the conflict is the opium economy to which all parties have ties. Both the harvest and the area cul-tivated decreased in 2015, but unfortuna-tely so did the num-ber of poppy-free provinces.

According to the 2015 Afghanistan Opium Survey figu-res released by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the opium poppy cultivation in 2015 is estimated to cover 183,000 hec-tares, compared with 224,000 in 2014. The cultivation area has decreased for the first time since 2009. The survey estimates opium production in 2015 to 3,300 tons, a decrease of 48 percent from its 2014 level (6,400 tons).

PRESIDENT Ashraf Ghani. CHIEF EXECUTIVE Abdullah Abdullah.

PHOTO | UNAMA PHOTO | UNAMA

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FOTO | JAMILA

AUTUMN saw a series of suicide attacks in Kabul, but also kidnappings of internationals in Kabul, inclu-ding the director of a non-governmental organization. After the attacks in Kabul, President Ghani changed his attitude towards Pakistan, strongly condemning the attacks and claiming they were planned and ope-rated from Pakistan.

PHOTO | CHRISTOFFER HJALMARSSON

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tions, su�ering and widespread destruction to infrastruc-ture. �e United Nations compound was set on �re and the hospital run by Doctors Without Borders was attacked by international and Afghan security forces, resulting in the death of 30 civilians. (Also see the chapter Con�ict, Risk and Security)

Autumn saw a series of suicide attacks in Kabul, but also kidnappings of internationals in Kabul, including the director of a non-governmental organization. A�er the attacks in Kabul, President Ghani changed his attitude towards Pakistan, strongly condemning the attacks and claiming they were planned and operated from Pakistan.

Mullah Mansour appears wanting to continue the approach previously communicated by the Taliban in the name of the deceased Mullah Omar, indicating that peace talks are possible and speaking about the need to reduce civilian casualties, while at the same time striking hard on the battle�eld against both ANSF and IS.

A�er the disarray following the news of Mullah Omar’s demise, the Taliban has showed both strength and frag-mentation, but also allowed for a period of consolidation and reorganization in late 2015. �e widespread �ghting of course causes great su�ering among the civilian popu-lation. �e number of internally displaced persons are still in the 100,000s and increasing.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONSReports on human rights violations were frequent throug-hout the year. �e culture of impunity is as strong as ever, with very little possibility for women and men alike to claim their rights and the judicial system o�ering practically no protection especially for women. �e parliament failed to pass a bill against the violence against women, even if Pre-sident Ghani has repeated that women’s rights will not be compromised in negotiations between the government and other parties.

Reports point to the fact that abuses are not only con-ducted by private individuals, armed opposition groups and warlords, but also in an increasing degree by govern-ment o�cials including law enforcers and security forces. �e lack of rule of law and corruption within the police makes the situation very di�cult for those being abused.

A brutal case illustrating the above took place in March when Farkhunda, a 27-year-old woman with a degree in Islamic Studies, was beaten to death, burnt and thrown in the Kabul River by a mob a�er allegedly burning a copy of the Holy Quran. �e attack was caught on camera and spread through social media, which led to outrage and protest demonstrations. An o�cial commission found no truth in the allegations against Farkhunda. Appa-rently, the mob had been instigated by a mullah, with whom Farkhunda had argued over his selling of charms at a shrine. Eighteen people were arrested for the lynching, and at least thirteen policemen who witnessed the killing

without interfering were suspended. When Farkhunda was buried, hundreds of activists joined her funeral and women, contrary to tradition, were carrying her remains.

Yet another incident causing outrage was the killing of seven civilian travelers taken hostage in Zabul Province in October. �e murders were seen in an ethnic context and their bodies were found a�er �ghting between Taliban and a splinter group claiming loyalty to IS, sparking one of the largest demonstrations in recent history in Kabul.

Also media has faced increasing threats in 2015. TV-networks were being described as “military objectives due to their disrespectful and hostile actions toward the Afghan Mujahedin nation” and accused of ridiculing reli-gious and cultural norms. Individual journalists also face threats and pressure from both armed opposition groups and government o�cials.

HOPE AND FEAR During December 2015, several meetings were held bet-ween the leaders in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. �e Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, visited Kabul con�rming relations also expressed with the donation of Indian attack helicopters. A lack of close air-support is one underlying factor that have seen armed opposition groups become so emboldened during 2015, launching full frontal assaults against ANSF without fear of airstrikes.

On his way back from Afghanistan, the Indian PM also made a stop for talks with the Pakistani PM, a surprising move for observers. �is was the �rst time in a decade that an Indian PM visited Pakistan, which could be a welcome sign of change. But it was perhaps mainly an indication of the pressure from US and China on Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Taliban to resume peace.

A date was announced for the 2016 elections to parli-ament and district councils, but this was soon disputed. Shortly a�er the announcement, chief executive Abdullah Abdullah criticized the scheduling, citing that the earlier agreed electoral reforms have still not been implemented.

Looking towards 2016, there are positive signs of poli-tical change in the region, but in terms of change in the living conditions of most people, progress is much too slow.

�is dissatisfaction with the lack of opportunities is feeding the political instability and violence. Not sur-prisingly, among the general Afghan population, many fear the realities on the ground ahead. In 2015 many, nota-bly young men, le� the country as refugees. As many as 38% would leave the country according to a 2015 survey 1 by Asia Foundation if they were given the opportunity. �is lack of hope for the future is not promising.

2015 started with the President only getting a minority of this ministers approved. Now, a year later, the Minis-ter of Defense is still to be approved and many o�cials remain to be appointed. ■

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES The conflict remai-ned at the high level reached in 2014. According to the annual report of United Nations Assistance Mis-sion in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the num-ber of civilian casu-alties also continued the steadily incre-asing trend. Even though the number of civilian deaths actu-ally decreased mar-ginally, the number of injured increased significantly, resulting in the total number of civilian causalities increasing by 4%. Out of the 3,545 dead civilians, 333 were women. 733 where children.

1. Afghanistan in 2015: A Survey of the Afghan People.

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SHAZIA PASHTUN has been a midwife for more than 30 years, the last 14 working at the SCA hospital in Metharlam. Over the years, she has assisted approximately 5,000 women giving birth. Out of those, 850 have been in the home of the woman.

PHOTO | ANDERS ROSÉN

IMPARTIALITY – A CORE VALUE While upholding the duty to be inclusive and non-discriminatory in our approach, we do not take sides in conflicts and do not support specific factions or parties representing various interests in society.

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During the past decade, health has improved in Afghanistan. Life expectancy has increased and the continued reduction in child and maternal mortality indicate that improved

access to health care has had an impact. Basic health ser-vices are organized provincially in Afghanistan and SCA is responsible for all primary health care in two provinces, Wardak and Laghman, with a population of more than one million people.

Despite progress, indicators show that the health situ-ation remains among the worst in the world. Access to health care is unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. Poor infrastructure, distance and insecurity result in many not being able to access the health care that actually exists. Women, children and persons with disa-bilities are those most deprived of access to health care. Awareness of health and hygiene practices, and where to go for health care, is limited.

Lack of safe drinking water is a serious problem, o�en leading to diarrhea and dehydration. Young children are

among those a�ected the worst, diarrhea being the most common cause of death for children under �ve.

WHAT DID SCA DO ABOUT IT IN 2015? Women, children and persons with disabilities and rural communities are the priority of SCA – groups that have the same rights to health as others. To respond to the rights and needs in the provinces of Wardak and Lagh-man, SCA operates in both hospitals and health centers, as well as in a large number of health posts accessible to people in rural areas.

One of the reasons that women are deprived of health care is the severe shortage of trained female health sta�. To counter this, SCA operates three schools for midwives and two for nurses in Wardak, Laghman and Samangan. A�er two years of studies, these young women return to the area from which they came, to become employed as midwives with SCA or other organizations in their community. In all, the midwife schools had 70 students during 2015 and in September, 38 nurses graduated in Wardak, the majo-

OBJECTIVE 1 | ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES

Equitable access to and utilisation of health services by women, children, persons with disabilities and rural communities.

MORE THAN 2.3 MILLION PATIENTS

AFGHANISTAN TODAY SCA OBJECTIVES IN 2015

■ 77 infants out of 1,000 die before the age of one, 97 children out of 1,000 die before the age of five. Source: Unicef

■ Violence against women is widespread and maternal mortality is among the highest in the world.

■ Only 23 percent of pregnant women have access to maternal care.

■ People with disabilities are often discri-minated against, are less healthy and have less access to health care than others.

■ Access to health care is particularly scarce in remote and insecure areas, and there is a general lack of health staff – especially female. This primarily affects women.

■ That families, especially mothers and children, become better at preventing illness and improving their health

■ That health services increasingly meet the specific needs of the target com-munities with a focus on women and girls, with and without disabilities, and other marginalized groups

■ That communities become more acti-vely involved in the promotion of accountable and responsive health services.

■ SCA provided health care to more than 2.3 million patients in two provinces.

■ SCA provided care through for four hospitals, 99 clinics and 529 health posts.

■ The number of pregnant women in maternal care increased by 6% in the provinces covered by SCA.

■ 36 health staff at SCA clinics received education on gender-based violence.

■ The share of children requiring treat-ment for diarrhea decreased.

97 OUT OF 1,000 CHILDREN DIE BEFORE THE AGE OF FIVEChildren, girls and boys, are dispropor-tionately vulnerable to poverty, and many development out-comes for children show marked gender differences.

SOURCE: UNICEF

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rity immediately being employed by SCA. SCA also sup-ports the Afghanistan Midwifes Association in their men-toring of midwives, a work which has strengthened both the association and the midwives. But this has also led to an increased demand for midwife services; an important deve-lopment when aiming to reduce maternal mortality.

To raise awareness of health and hygiene, nutrition and safe drinking water, a strategy employed is to provide health information on as many occasions as possible; in trainings, in waiting rooms, in schools. Any time patients seek health care is an opportunity to raise awareness. �is may result in e�ects such as parents seeking care for their children at an earlier stage. �rough community health councils and family groups, SCA gradually raises aware-ness of preventive health care. Radio spots and so-called learning for healthy life classes, which combine literacy with health information, were also important activities to increase awareness.

But information is not enough in itself. SCA coopera-tes with community development councils to drill wells to ensure access to safe water. Measures to improve the qua-lity of drinking water include reducing wasting water at water points and building latrines.

�e health of persons with disabilities is o�en poo-rer than others and they receive less care, the result of unawareness of rights – and what can actually be done. SCA aims to change this through information on radio and television and by ensuring that they are represen-ted and taken into account in community health coun-cils. SCA also trains its health sta� to ensure that persons with disabilities receives adequate treatment and are not discriminated.

WHAT IS NEW OR HAS CHANGED? Funded by the Post Code Lottery, two additional emer-gency wards were built in Wardak, along the road between Kabul and Kandahar and will be inaugurated in early 2016. �e clinics will be open around the clock and are equipped with ambulances. In order to treat more child-ren, the pediatric clinic at the provincial hospital in War-dak was expanded with another 55 beds.

In 2015, the Ministry of Public Health in Afgha-nistan and the World Health Organization announ-ced that doctors, nurses and midwives are to be edu-cated about gender-based violence. �e initiative covers all of the country's 34 provinces and aims to increase knowledge of victims of gender-based vio-lence. As a part of this, 24 male and 12 female health sta� were trained already this year at SCA clinics.

Teachers employed at SCA community-based schools have started their voluntary training to be so-called health promoters. �e 54-day training program is in accordance with guidelines from the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. �e teachers will, in addi-tion to providing students and parents health-related

information, also be the link between the school and the nearest clinic.

CHANGE AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF SCA �e proportion of children under �ve who needed treat-ment for diarrhea at SCA clinics and hospitals decreased from twelve to seven percent compared to one year earlier. �is is a large decrease and the development ahead needs to be monitored closely. �e chain of causality is not cer-tain, but the decrease is very welcome and in line with the information campaigns of SCA in Wardak and Laghman about the importance of safe water and hygiene practices.

As SCA and other organizations train midwives and

While access to basic services has increased sig-nificantly in the past decade, 2015 also saw ques-tioning of reported results in improved health. The British organization HealthProm released a report questioning the reported drastic drop in maternal mortality rates. While the report confirms that it is likely that rates have declined, it pointed out how difficult it is to survey this kind of information in the Afghan context, and that maternal mortality is likely to be underreported. Comparing the case of Afgha-nistan with similar health improvements elsewhere, the report states that the conditions for such a drastic fall are probably not.

Reducing maternal mortality rates is not only an issue of access to basic health services, but also related to other challenges, such as physical infrastructure and general awareness, a develop-ment that shows slower progress. The report emp-hasizes that development must be analyzed from several perspectives to be described realistically.

Health care in Wardak and Laghman provinces Achieved 2014 Planned 2015 Achieved 2015

Total Total Total Of whom women

Number of patient consultationsThe number of planned consultations equals one con-sultation per capita in the provinces where SCA work.

1,824,175 1,078,440 2,347,066 1,342,005

Questioned resultsLogistics, recrui-ting and monito-ring remain constant challenges for SCA – all becoming more difficult with decrea-sing security.

632

SCA maternal and child health care

Achieved 2014

Planned 2015

Achieved 2015

Number of children under five screened for growth

282,280 215,688 307,768

Number of vaccinations for children under one

47,609 43,138 51,212

Proportion of health facilities with at least one skilled birth attendant

87% 87% 97%

Number of patients in maternal care

33,614 43,138 37,700

Number of health facilities run by SCA and made up on 4 hospitals, 99 clinics and 529 health posts.

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PHOTOS THIS PAGE | EXCERPT FROM THE FILM ABOUT SCA BY MALIN HOELSTAD.

SEE THE FILM ON SWEDISHCOMMITTEE.ORG

THE SCA HOSPITAL in Metharlam, Laghman province.

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ANNUAL MEETING MOTIONS MAINLY RELATING TO HEALTHMotion 1 | Regarding survival of infants and the working conditions of midwives. The motion was followed up by the SCA health programme in Afghanistan, which found the suggested method of mentor mothers to be good, but to a large extent duplicating activities that SCA are already implementing, also in the form of home visits and awareness-raising.Motion 12 |Regarding sun-waterMotion 13 | Regarding a shower systemMotion 15 | Regarding a laundry room Motion 16 | Regarding cooling roomsThe motions above were all considered by KMO programme staff, who while appreciating the suggestions, concluded that in most cases they require infrastructure such as dependable electricity or conditions that are not at hand in rural Afghanistan.

Staff Number of whom women

Number of doctors 111 10

Number of nurses 115 32

Other health workers 595 105

Midwifes trained 68 68

THE DEMAND FOR HEALTH CARE is great but resources are limited. Pediatric ward at the SCA hospital in Metharlam.


put them to work, maternal mortality has decreased in Afghanistan. �e number of births assisted by trained SCA personnel in Wardak and Laghman increased by 6% in 2015.

Early detection of disease is essential for patients’ ability to recover quickly. �is also makes better use of resources, as each patient requires less treatment. Improved coor-dination between SCA programmes for health and edu-cation, and shared objectives, meant that more students

than planned could to undergo health checks.Improved awareness in community health shuras led to

more patients than expected being referred to SCA clinics and workshops, and there receiving orthopedic devices such as prostheses, braces, crutches and wheelchairs.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS A study of the capacity of health councils in Laghman and Wardak was carried out, as well as a study of the accessi-bility of health facilities. SCA initiated a study on know-ledge, attitudes and practices related to health in 2015. However, worsening security made it impossible to pro-ceed. �e study was put on hold temporarily with the intention to resume it in 2016.

Constructions done at province hospitals and the two new emergency wards did not adequately ensure the needs of persons with disabilities. �is was mainly due to insu�cient coordination, but may also be an indica-tion of not even SCA yet being able to su�ciently consider the rights of persons with disabilities in planning. To add-ress this in the future, a team has been formed tasked with ensuring coordination of major constructions.

In 2015, SCA had only 10 female doctors employed, despite the target being set at 26. �e number of male doc-tors was 101, compared to the target 57. �e reason behind this development is mainly that female doctors in Laghman have sought employment at private clinics in Jalalabad as security there is better than in the areas where SCA works. �is has consequences for women’s right to health care, for which female doctors is o�en a requirement.

Strengthening the community health councils is a prio-rity, but ensuring that they are representative of the wider community is a challenge. Although more women par-ticipate, cultural barriers and security does not excuse that men in the councils outnumber women �ve to one. Even lower is the representation of persons with disabi-lities, although some progress was seen. Increasing inclu-sion and participation, and counteracting prejudice, is an important objective for SCA. ■

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The education started in March and at around the same time, a course for midwifes was also initiated. SCA health care education has two specific features; it is only open for women and only for women living in rural areas where there is a lack of female health pro-fessionals. All who are accepted to the training com-mit to return to the area where they come from and work there for at least three years.

The educations are popular. In all, 187 women app-lied during the year to become nurses, 84 were cho-sen for interviews and 21 women are now attending the school. During the course, health theory is com-bined with practice. The school is located in what is

really a residential building that has been converted into a school. Apart from class rooms, there are also dormitories where the students live and a small day-care center, which makes it possible for Zeba to bring her daughter, 2-year-old Asma.

"I see no difficulty in being away from my husband for two years. This is an entirely female environment so it will be fine", says Zeba Rahemi.

Zeba Rahemi comes from the village Rabatak, an hour east of Aibak. Common health problems in her village are diarrhea, malaria and typhoid. And there is a great need of female health professionals.

Other health care activities 2015 Achieved 2014 Planned 2015 Achieved 2015

Total of whom women Total of whom women Total of whom women

Number of women in enrolled in Learning for Healthy Life-classes; literacy education combined with health information

2,250 100% 2,250 100% 2,250 100%

Number of children in school who received medical check-up once per year and regu-lar health education

18,120 55% 16 170 70 % 12,593 64%

Persons with disabilities receiving health and hygiene education

3,401 38% 5,294 38% 5,483 40%

Persons with disabilities receiving physiotherapy

15,548 35% 14,539 41% 16,260 38%

Non-disabled receiving physiotherapy 20,680 36% 19,473 37% 20,581 40%

Persons receiving orthopaedic devices 13,389 30% 12,558 32% 13,766 28%

187 women applied for the community nurse education

”I want to become a nurse to help the poor”, says 23-year-old Zeba Rahemi when answering why she applied to the newly started community nursing school in Aibak, northern Afghanistan.

FOR TWO YEARS, Zeba Rahemi will be away from home and study to become a nurse. As the school also provides daycare for children, 2-year-old Asma can be with her mother.

PHOTO | BJÖRN LINDH

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CLASS in a SCA-supported school in Takhar province.

EQUALITY – A CORE VALUEWe promote equal opportunities and facilitate equal access to resources for all citizens, including women, girls, boys and persons with disabilities.

PHOTO | HUMAIRA GHANI

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The ability to read and write is one of the most important factors in progress within health, livelihood and participation – hence, the qua-lity of education is also essential. Although

the situation has improved signi�cantly in past years, an estimated 40% of children and youth in school age in Afghanistan are still deprived of education. �e stan-dard of education that is o�ered is o�en very poor. SCA supports what is known as community-based education in rural areas, established in areas di�cult to access and lacking government education.

In rural areas, children need to contribute to family livelihood at an early age. �is o�en results in them being deprived of education. Improving rural livelihoods is there fore as vital as increasing awareness of parents of the importance of being able to read and write. Another rea-

son for parents not letting their children attend school is the distance to school sometimes being signi�cant and the way to it being dangerous.

SCA especially focuses on girl’s right to education and the number of girls in school is increasing. Out of the 69,000 children in SCA-supported schools in 2015, approx-imately 62% were girls. �e large proportion of girls in SCA schools is not representative for Afghanistan, but an e�ect of SCA e�orts to especially promote education to girls, as they so o�en are denied education.

Children with disabilities o�en have little or no access to education. �e general knowledge of their needs in education is low, but SCA and other organizations work for their inclusion in regular education, having the equal rights as others to education. Another group that has practically been excluded from education is children in

OBJECTIVE 2 | ACCESS TO EDUCATION

Equal access to quality educational opportunities

70,000 CHILDREN IN SCHOOL DESPITE SECURITY PROBLEMS

AFGHANISTAN TODAY SCA OBJECTIVE IN 2015

■ The demand for education is very high. ■ Quality of education in Afghanistan

is low. ■ The shortage of teachers in the rural

areas is substantial, especially when it comes to female teachers, which primarily affects girls.

■ Children with disabilities are often excluded from education.

■ The capacity in educational issues is often weak in local authorities.

■ Strengthened delivery of education at the community level, adapted to the needs of all children.

■ Increased demand for education. ■ Capacitated authorities that can

provide better education. ■ Increased pressure from parents

and communities for governmental accountability with regards to delivering quality education.

■ 68,654 children were enrolled in 515 SCA supported schools. 62% were girls.

■ The demand for education is high. Communities demand education also for young women.

■ In Wardak Province 32 schools were closed after receiving threats.

■ SCA facilitated the establishment of a national teacher’s association.

■ 2,958 children with disabilities went through preparatory education. 328 children with disabilities completed preparatory education and were inclu-ded in mainstream schools.

Community Based Education includes Community Based Schools or com-munity-based edu-cation for nomadic children and coach-ing classes for young women. The former girls’ annexes are now included in the Community Based Schools. SCA sup-ported 532 schools in 2015.

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nomadic families. �eir way of life has been viewed as dif-�cult to combine with regular education. However, SCA training teachers who themselves are nomadic has helped increase the number of nomadic children in education.

Schools are o�en exposed to pressure from armed opposition groups wanting to in�uence text books and curriculums, stop the education of girls or believe schools represent the government. �is is a severe hindrance in providing education.

WHAT DID SCA DO IN 2015? In 2015, SCA worked together with 547 Community Edu-cation Councils, local structures responsible for mana-ging education in their communities. �e establishment of community-based education means that SCA as well as the community puts education �rst. Awaiting proper facilities, schooling is o�en conducted in the home envi-ronment, in the mosque or outdoors. But regardless of whether education takes place outdoors or in a newly con-structed school, the quality needs to be ensured. Teachers are few and their capacity limited, which is why SCA trains teachers in various subjects, including teachings methods.

Children with disabilities are o�ered preparatory train-ing at home or in community rehabilitation centers before transferring to regular schools. �is may include physical devises making everyday life easier, but also building con-�dence and self-esteem in children. O�en they also learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic at this stage.

Other activities aiming to improve education is teacher

training, construction of schools and capacity deve-lopment of government education authorities, o�en at district and province level.

WHAT IS NEW OR HAS CHANGED? For many years, SCA provided girls with education in what is known as girls’ annexes, located in areas where that are no other schools or where mixed gender classes are not accepted. In 2015, all girls’ annexes, 555 classes in 77 communities in Wardak, Ghazni and Paktika, were turned into Community Based Schools. �is represen-ted a step towards not di�erentiating between the rights to education for girls, boys, nomadic children or children with disabilities.

�e number of children in SCA-supported schools have decreased somewhat during the year. �is is in part a deli-berate shi� towards quality and capacity development, but also due to the closing of some community-based schools for security reasons.

A signi�cant event in 2015 was the establishment of a National Teacher Elected Council (NTEC) in Kabul. SCA helped bring together teacher councils from 23 provinces, forming a national umbrella organization. �is is an example of SCA e�orts to support civil society within the �eld of edu-cation and the strengthening of its advocacy activities.

CHANGE AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF SCA �e inclusion of children with disabilities in regular schools is a positive development, leading to better under-

CLASS in a SCA-supported school in Mazar-e-Sharif.

PHOTO | SIRI SUTCLIFFE LARSSON

ONLY 21% OF THE RURAL POPULATION AND 7% OF RURAL WOMEN CAN READ OR WRITE. The situation for women, and gender relations in general, vary with geography and social factors. In general, women have limited access to ser-vices such as edu-cation and health-care, to work out-side the home, and to financial resour-ces. They are also subject to severe res-trictions on their free-dom to travel, socia-lise and participate in public life.

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The entire community is committed to their school. Parents help with everything from dig-ging latrines to actively trying to solve any pro-blems that occur. The actual school facilities are provided for not by the government or SCA, but by the villagers themselves. It appears as if the per-ception that education is only for boys, and not for girls, has completely disappeared. Neither stu-dents, teachers, principals, parents nor the staff of SCA meet more than a few individuals who are against girls’ right to education. Everyone seems to agree that the biggest problem is the lack of good school facilities. As the villagers themselves pro-vide the facilities, there is not enough resources to construct proper buildings. Villagers use whatever space they can find. ”I have seen the school in town and I wish we could

have a similar”, said Mohammad Qurban, 10 years old. SCA is trying hard to recruit more qualified teachers. Gradually, low educated men, often mullahs, are replaced by trained teachers. The majority of the new teachers are young women. In the schools sup-ported by SCA in Taloqan, close to 60 percent among teachers are women. ”The young women are very important in the villa-ges. Both the children and the villagers become aware that women can educate themselves and take qua-lified jobs”, says Sayed Mukhtar responsible for the Education programme at SCA’s office in Taloqan. Obidah, 24, is one of those teachers who not only spreads knowledge but also brings change by being who she is. ”This is a holy job. We are here because we want to be here”, says Obidah.

Schools change the understanding of how society functions

”Most people here in the village have no education. But we want our children to have the possibility to study”, says Hassibullah who is the chairman of the School Management Committee in a village in Keshem.


"I HAVE SEEN THE SCHOOL in town and I wish we could have a similar”, says Mohammad Qurban, 10 years old.

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standing of the rights and capacity of children with disabi-lities. In the province of Balkh, both teachers and parents have raised demands on local authorities to provide and adapt schooling also to children with special needs.

In communities, a main task of School Management Councils is to in�uence local authorities to recognize the importance of children's right to education. One example comes from Jalalabad, where councils during the year sent 32 requests for the establishment of new schools to pro-vincial education authorities. In Mazar-e-Sharif, authori-ties received 50 such requests and in Ghazni 28.

Another example comes from a district in Samangan where a large part of the community demanded the esta-blishment of coaching classes, enabling girls who earlier had not been able to �nalize their education to graduate secondary education. �is also included religious leaders who during Friday prayers spoke about the importance of girl’s equal right to education for the community.

In Ghazni, armed opposition groups imposed strict restrictions on education for girls, upon which one of the SCA-supported Community Councils initiated a dialogue with the local Taliban leader, resulting in that the teaching of girls could resume.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS �e most signi�cant challenge in 2015 has been security, which has a�ected both students and sta�. Fighting in Kunduz resulted in SCA education supervisors not being able to travel and monitor classes as planned. In order to follow up on daily work, reporting and communication between teachers and community education councils had to be done by mobile phone. In the province, only 58 out of 70 planned new school facilities could be build, also a consequence of the con�ict.

Almost all SCA community-based schools were asses-sed for functionality and quality of learning and teaching processes. Based on results of the internal assessment, 95 classes were merged with other classes or cancelled. Also, following security concerns and attempts form armed opposition groups to stop education for girls, 32 classes were suspended. An assessment of Physical and Humilia-ting Punishment and Child Rights Practices was comple-ted. An assessment of early child development was can-celled as another organization conducted a similar assess-ment.

�e Community Based Schools supported by SCA not only need to be provided with teachers who have the capacity to also educate children with special needs. Very

few schools are physically adapted to meet the needs of children with disabilities.

Adequate textbooks are important for the quality of edu-cation. Teaching materials are o�en outdated and of very low standard, both in SCA-supported schools and others. Some schools have no textbooks at all. Already in 2008, the Afghan Ministry of Education received funding to pro-duce text books, but in spite of recurring demands from SCA and other organizations they have not yet met their commitments. SCA will continue to demand action from the Ministry and will in 2016 be part of a coordinated civil society e�ort to put pressure on the authorities.

In line with a motion from the SCA Annual General Meeting 2013, SCA has planned a study of gender sensiti-vity in textbooks for 2016. As an advocacy e�ort, SCA will submit the �ndings to the Ministry of Education for their consideration when revising the textbooks of children in Afghanistan. ■

Teachers on strikeIn June, teachers in all over Afghanistan went on strike, protesting their employment conditions and salary level and demanding a decrease in teach-ing hours for older and more experienced teachers. They also demanded an end to a stop on promo-tions, as well as improved housing provision for teachers. At its peak, teachers from over 40 schools in Kabul participated along with schools in 18 pro-vinces. The strike was criticised by many. SCA schools were not affected.

The education system is under strong pressure to keep pace with the growing number of children of school age. Schools are too few and ill-equipped, teaches are too few and insufficiently trained. Besi-des the difficulty in training enough teachers or even finding adults who can read and write, the budget allocated from the Afghan government for teachers is simply not enough.

The strike ended in the last days of June after the government promised that the demands would be met.

Students in SCA schools Result 2014 Planned 2015 Result 2015

Total % women Total % women Total % women

Students 77,491 65% 81,000 67% 68,654 62%

Special education for children and adults with disabilities 2,853 36% 2,903 36% 2,958 39%

Children with physical disabilities included in mainstream schools 175 27% 146 38% 146 38%

Children with special needs included in mainstream schools 456 32% 360 39% 328 37%

According to the annual survey of Asia Foundation, women are increasingly aware of their right to education. Nearly all Afghans, 93.6%, support women’s equal access to education in Quran Schools, and a high proportion sup-port equal opportu-nities at the primary school (84.5%), high school (82.8%) and at the university level (73.8%).

During 2015, SCA supported 547 Com-munity Educa-tion Councils and 36 Teacher Elected Councils.

2,471 teachers where employed at SCA schools in 2015. Out of these, 27.5% were women. The shortage of qualified female teachers is one of the main cau-ses behind girls not receiving education.

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PHOTOS THIS PAGE | EXCERPT FROM THE FILM ABOUT SCA BY MALIN HOELSTAD. SEE THE

FILM ON SWEDISHCOMMITTEE.ORG

IN 2015, all girls’ annexes, 555 classes in 77 commu-nities in Wardak, Ghazni and Paktika, were turned into Community Based Schools. This represen-ted a step towards not dif-ferentiating between the rights to education for girls, boys, nomadic children or children with disabilities.

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RESPONSIVENESS – A CORE VALUEWe work in respectful cooperation with target groups to address their needs and legitimate demands with an emphasis on local ownership.

THE VILLAGE BAGHMANIHA NEAR MAZAR-E-SHARIF. Community development councils improve the conditions for villagers to support themselves.


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Poverty is widespread in rural Afghanistan and the opportunities for sustainable livelihoods are very limited. Secure livelihood is important to any family, but even more so in times of con�ict,

famine or natural disasters. SCA aims to support indivi-duals and communities as they improve their livelihoods, diversify income and build economic resilience by provi-ding assistance such as training on business development or microloans to start a business.

A rights-based approach, which is the foundation of all SCA interventions, means that all members of society must be included. SCA in particular focuses on women and per-sons with disabilities – people who because of the values or ignorance of others o�en �nd themselves in exclusion. As women are o�en excluded from working outside of home, they are particularly vulnerable when responsible for provi-ding the household income.

Although Afghanistan has seen a rapid urbanization over the past decade, an estimated three quarters of the

population live and make their living in the rural areas. Agriculture and small-scale animal farming are the main sources of income. But con�ict and natural disasters have led to the destruction of the infrastructure at some loca-tions, such as irrigation systems, leading to livelihood opp-ortunities being even more reduced.

It is estimated that at least three million Afghans cur-rently live with some form of disability. Half are of wor-king age and are to a large degree without livelihood. Anyone being a woman will be discriminated against twice. Experience shows that persons with disabilities who still manage to support themselves and their fami-lies are o�en those running their own business, a small shop or making traditional means of living such as tailo-ring or carpet weaving.

WHAT DID SCA DO IN 2015? SCA supports members of rural communities, with spe-cial priority given to the target groups women and per-

Women, persons with disabilities and vulnerable rural households are making a secure means of living that provides resilience against shocks and emergencies.

SELF SUFFICIENCY BRINGS RESILIENCE

AFGHANISTAN TODAY SCA OBJECTIVES IN 2015

■ The less insecure provinces see slow development, very little can be done in the more insecure areas. In some areas, the living conditions are even worse than a decade ago.

■ In recent years, development pro-grams in Afghanistan were separated and organised under different depart-ments. Now all programmes sort under the Ministry of Rural Development and its program National Solidarity Pro-gramme (NSP).

■ That adult members of rural communi-ties have strengthened capacities and improved access to resources to diver-sifying their household incomes.

■ That community-based organizations are promoting rural livelihoods.

■ SCA supported 221 self-help groups, counting more than 3,300 members

■ A study indicated that 71% of those who had undergone vocational training arranged by SCA had secured employment or had started their own business.

■ 668 persons with disabilities received loans to start or develop their already existing businesses.

OBJECTIVE 3 | SECURE RURAL LIVELIHOODS

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sons with disabilities, by strengthening their ability to self-support and diversify their household incomes.

Self-help group members save money, raising funds that are lent to members wanting to diversify their income by investing and starting small businesses. �e ability to provide for or contribute to the family income brings social and �nancial status, which is especially important as this increases household resilience, but also empowers women-led households and counteracts prejudice towards persons with disabilities. During the course of the year, self-help groups saved more than 1 million Afghani, the equivalent of about 15,000 USD. �is may in a Western context seem modest, but a vast majority of people in the country live on less than 1 USD per day. SCA also o�ers these groups interest-free loans to business start-ups.

�rough community development councils, in 2015 SCA supported 221 self-help groups with more than 3,300 members. SCA o�ers practical training in sewing, poultry farming, vegetable farming, soap making and carpet wea-ving. Courses are also available in business development, use of computers, sales and marketing and methods of joint decision-making. In 2015, more than 550 people under-went trainings such as these, of which more than half were women.

WHAT IS NEW OR HAS CHANGED? Aiming to strengthen the capacity of self-help groups, in 2015 SCA initiated exchange visits between villa-ges. Group members visited other villages and self-help groups, studying their work with micro funding, accoun-ting, leadership and business development. Linking vil-lages together turned out bene�cial in creating business networks and comparing experiences.

CHANGE AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF SCA Activities that have been prioritized according to a rights-base approach have in many cases led to better self-esteem among persons with disabilities. A�er vocational training and interest free loans, their ability to secure own income has improved. Women and men with disabilities started their own businesses, expanded what they already did or diversi�ed their sources of income. Examples of such ini-tiatives in 2015 were beekeeping, carpet or bag-weaving

and the opening of local shops.SCA promotes networking and partnerships among

marginalized groups in rural areas. An example of this is the network formed when 92 female tailors from Dehdadi in Balkh province merged. �e network aims to increase their own income by cooperating and providing marketing, a supply of good materials and safeguard quality.

In 2015 a study was conducted on the impact of voca-tional training for persons with disabilities and how many students that actually improved their livelihood. �e study found that 71% of those who underwent training found jobs or started their own business.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS Again, the main challenge for SCA in this work is the decreasing security. Some planned livelihood activities were postponed until 2016. �is can be attributed to seve-ral reasons, including delays caused by lengthy negotia-tions between government ministries, but it is also a con-sequence of the decrease in value of the SEK in relation to the USD in 2015. �is resulted in a budget de�cit, uncer-tainty of which activities the funding would cover and to re-allocations. Following this, 45 Village Savings and Loan Associations, representing 750 households, could not be implemented as planned nor receive trainings or loans. Work was initiated and will resume in 2016. For SCA, livelihood is still a rather new area in which the organization is still developing. ■

Trainings, loans and jobs Achieved 2014 Planned 2015 Achieved 2015

Total of whom women Total of whom women Total of whom women

Vocational training 539 271 551 275 557 302

Persons with disabilities placed in job 49 11 95 14 96 15

Recipients of loans 668 282 650 240 635 242

Groups, households and associations Planned 2015 Achieved 2015

Self-help groups 225 221

Rural households with access to loans to diversify sources of income 3,375 3,337

Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) formation (see also challanges and problems) 45 0

ONE IN FIVE HOUSE-HOLDS HAS A MEM-BER WITH A DISA-BILITYThere is a wide-spread social stigma attached to disabi-lity and the estima-ted 750,000-850,000 Afghans with a severe disability are among the most socially excluded and vulnerable to fall into poverty.

ANNUAL MEETING MOTIONS MAINLY RELATING TO LIVELIHOOD WEREMotion 14 | Regarding a cooking stove Motion 17 | Regarding the E-plaza Motion 18 | Regarding feltingThe suggestions have been followed up by pro-gramme staff. Motions 17 and 18 were well recei-ved and will be considered while preparing the next strategic plan of SCA, while the cooking stove was assessed not to be possible to introduce at this stage.

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If you were to look inside of them you would find basic office equipment; binders, hole punchers and notebooks. In most boxes you would find around 15 banknotes of 100 Afghanis, in other words 1 500 Afghanis, or just about 22 USD. Every collected bill is carefully recorded. Anyone who cannot write has marked with a thumbprint to certify that he or she has contributed their share. Each member in the self-help groups save and contri-bute 100 Afghanis monthly. Anyone who has saved for at least six months is eligible to borrow for a future investment. Some members in each self-help groups are given the opportunity to attend vocational training, such as car-pentry, tailoring, repair of mobile phones or carpet wea-ving. SCA also contributes to small projects to improve roads, build community facilities and other infrastructure. Support is also given to training. ”Sometimes my children have gone to bed hungry”, says Seyamo.

As many Afghans, Seyamo presents herself by only one name. She is chairperson of a self-help group, and she is a woman who has lived and still lives a hard life. Her husband died of a heart attack, leaving Seyamo to care for five children, two daughters and three sons. She provides for the family by tailoring, but her hus-band had no brother or other relatives who could provide for the family. Her oldest son work as a day laborer and Seyamo’s brother has given the family a calf. A particular concern for Seyamamo is her back pain. During the spring floods the house was destroyed. Sey-amo tried her best to repair it, but the work caused her back pain that will not go away. It is expensive to go to Mazar-e-Sharif for treatment and medicines are expen-sive. ”In a few years, I hope we have a better income, cattle, and that the children get the chance to educate themselves”, says Seyamo.

A box for the futureMohammad Hussein is carrying a metal box. Perhaps it does not look very special, but in it a better world is being made. The box belongs to one of the many self-help groups that have formed in Sholgara in northern Afghanistan. The groups consist of either women or men, with and without disabilities. There are more groups for women than for men.

AS SO MANY OTHERS, Muhammad Hussein dreams about improved living conditions and higher income.


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SOCIAL JUSTICE – A CORE VALUEWe strive to be fair to all with whom we work. While working to affirm the rights of all individuals, we recognize that differences in gender, individual capabilities and identities give rise to varied needs and interests.

EVERYTHING is done by the community itself and after local priorities. Here work in Samangan Province.


31


The level of social and economic development in rural Afghanistan is very low. Con�ict, corrup-tion and governmental mismanagement means that communities have even less possibilities to

achieve change. People are le� in a state of disempower-ment, focused on survival, and are neither able to claim their rights towards district or provincial authorities, nor to su�ciently address their own development needs.

Contributing to strengthening community gover-nance at the local level is an important part of SCA's work. Making people commit and claim their own rights is a key factor, but it is neither easy nor risk-free. �e �ghting in 2015 between the government and armed opposition groups over power and agenda, including the emergence of governance structures, led to further inse-curity. �ose most a�ected by con�ict and corruption – especially at district and province level – are those that are already most vulnerable – women, children and mar-ginalized groups in rural areas. A recurring problem is also the general weakness of the government, inability of

district and provincial authorities and limited resources. A signi�cant problem is also the unequal participa-

tion in local decision-making bodies. Women and per-sons with disabilities are most o�en excluded from par-ticipation and decision-making, leading to their rights not being met. Within the already disempowered com-munities, they fare worst and their interests are to a lesser extent taken into account both by the communi-ties themselves and authorities.

WHAT DID SCA DO IN 2015? Women and persons with disabilities are groups that because of tradition are not included in community decision-making. It is therefore the mission of SCA to strengthen the degree of participation of these groups. �eir representation both in the self-help groups and in development is important and councils need to re�ect the community at large.

To achieve change requires coordinated e�orts in several areas. In villages, community councils and orga-

Community members are actively engaged in decision- making, influencing the development of their communities and are able to hold relevant stakeholders to account.

LOCAL PRIORITY AND LOCAL WORK

AFGHANISTAN TODAY SCA OBJECTIVES 2015

■ The capacity of district and provincial authorities is generally low, especially in the most insecure areas.

■ The participation of women in deci-sion-making is traditionally extremely low. Women and men often cannot participate in meetings together.

■ Many communities suffer a great shortage of resources and power over their development.

■ That rural communities, including women, children, and people with disabilities, are well-represented and increasingly participate in demo-cratic community organizations and decision-making.

■ That local authorities are more accountable and able to respond to the demands of local communities.

■ SCA supported 285 Community Deve-lopment Councils, providing advice on planning, budgeting and advocacy.

■ The Community Development Coun-cils and SCA jointly completed 334 projects according to local priorities, including hydroelectricity plants and power lines, wells, roads, walls and pipe schemes.

■ SCA worked especially for women and persons with disabilities having the same right to influence develop-ment as others.

■ SCA contributed to good governance by training local authorities.

OBJECTIVE 4 | COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE

77% OF ALL AFGHANS LIVE IN RURAL COMMUNITIESAccess to essen-tial services and infrastructure, such as education, health, safe water, sanitation and economic opp-ortunities remains very limited.

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nizations are supported by SCA with facilitation of plan-ning and budgeting, training and advocacy assistance. �ey are strengthened and enabled to act towards autho-rities, as well as to implement their own prioritized deve-lopment projects. At district and provincial level, repre-sentative councils and government bodies are linked and supported to increase mutual accountability.

Aiming to increase the capacity of district government o�ces, sta� have been provided with training in basic computer skills. �is has been found very useful, with authorities asking for an extension of the programme.

Community mobilization makes it possible to in�u-ence and take part in decisions on the future and deve-lopment of villages, including groups that are o�en excluded. SCA o�ers training on project management, gender equality and con�ict resolution, but also human rights and laws to community development councils, elected locally by community members.

To meet the need of safe drinking water, school buil-dings or other community facilities in rural areas, the community councils carry out development projects every year. In cooperation with SCA, community coun-cils discuss and decide how to prioritize. Representa-tion within the councils needs to be broad and inclu-sive. More than 300 projects carried out in 2015 inclu-ded hydropower, drinking water wells, pipelines, roads, walls and irrigation. Villages were connected by roads, important for both social and �nancial reasons.

WHAT IS NEW OR HAS CHANGED? To assess both local governance and the opportunity of sustainable livelihoods, SCA undertook a study of the

capacity of local authorities in the provinces of Samangan and Balkh. �e assessment revealed shortcomings in areas such as monitoring, good governance, transparency and leadership. To address this, SCA initiated capacity deve-lopment training within the organization of the district governor.

SCA is aware of the low capacity of community health councils. As a rule, women and persons with disabilities are under-represented, and the councils are o�en neither able to advocate for the rights of the community towards authorities, nor to lead long term change in their catch-ment areas. In 2015, 20 health shuras were selected for training and supported in planning.

CHANGE AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF SCA In addition to actually implementing development pro-jects that improve the living conditions of the population, it also creates employment. Increased and more reliable income has e�ects such as improving the conditions for independence. An important aspect of these projects is also that they encourage people to join together in other ventures, empowering and bringing ownership of deve-lopment. SCA has also found that the work process of the councils becomes more e�cient over time – their ability simply improves.

SCA and other organizations have for many years worked with traditional forms of information and edu-cational activities, but also aiming to create visibility in Afghan media. SCA notes that the general awareness and knowledge of children's rights has increased, even if slowly. �ere are examples of local authorities now to a higher degree meeting their responsibility in taking

... radio and televi-sion programmes informing about disa-bilities were pro-duced and broad-casted by SCA staff in Afghanistan. 31,580 brochu-res and other prin-ted material regar-ding disability were disseminated during the year.

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THE LOCAL COMMUNITY is involved in the building of a new school in Warsaj in the province of Takhar in June 2015. Haji Fazul Bari is a principal and chairperson of the local development council.


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over and running SCA–initiated physiotherapy clinics or employing more sta� at rehabilitation clinics. Progress is also made relating to the inclusion of children with disa-bilities in government schools.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS Con�ict and insecurity also hit Ghazni Province hard, severely a�ecting the possibility of adequate monito-ring. In a few other places, the Taliban were quite suc-cessful in taking control of districts, causing SCA to cancel a number of planned meetings and workshops on the importance of participating in local decision-making.

In areas where SCA has implemented the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), this has been an issue of special concern. �e Taliban o�en view NSP as a govern-ment initiative and project, aimed at strengthening the national government rather than the capacity of local communities. An example of the consequences of this is that SCA had to relocate several activities, including the closure of 109 Community Development Councils in the district of Jaghato in the province of Wardak and 12 in Dar-e Suf, Samangan Province. ■

CDC activities Planned 2015 Achieved 2015

Number of supported Community Development Councils 282 285

Number of approved project applications by supported Community Development Councils 96 96

Number of projects implemented by supported Community Development Councils 395 334

Examples of engineering activities Result 2014 Achieved 2015

Water points drilled and equipped 223 77

Latrines constructed 1,030 875

Cricket pitches 8 29

Schools constructed 23 7

Delivery rooms constructed 3 3

Health clinics constructed and repaired 3 2

Staff quarters 7 1

Female waiting area 14 2

Drug stores 3 2

420 x 3 meters300 families live in the village Qala-e-Ziarat. Situated in the Jalres district of Wardak Province, it is a mountainous place where the people depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood.

The village is one of those where SCA implements the National Solidarity Programme. The programme includes support to local shuras, Community Development Councils, improving their capacity to influence authorities and other actors, but also to make the changes that the community itself hold as most important.

Work is done in several phases. During the first phase the councils are assisted in identifying their needs. For the outcome to be sufficient, it is vital that the councils are representative of the communities. SCA cannot support councils that do not include women or where there is no separate council also for women.

Eventually, the development council in Qala-e-Ziarat decided to prioritize the construc-tion of a wall to protect the village from flooding. On several earlier occasions the village has been hit by flash floods and flooding, once causing the death of eight people of one family. The farmable land belonging to the village has also been ruined several times.

Supported by SCA staff, worked was initiated in 2013. Today, the wall is 420 meters long, three meters high and serves as good protection from the melting snow. But the most important result is perhaps the shared effort of the villagers and their execution of every thing from planning and decision to the building!

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INTEGRITY – A CORE VALUEWe are true to our mission, maintaining honesty and transparency in all of what we do and say, upholding a spirit of openness and sharing with stake-holders, while always prepared to be held to account for our actions.

ON TINGSVALLA ARENA in Karlstad, Sweden, a group of young men practice bandy. Their aim is set on playing in the World Championships for Afghanistan.


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SCA aims to sustain and increase the public and poli-tical commitment for the rights of the people of Afghanistan. To achieve this, SCA members and sta� arrange outreach activities, communication,

fundraising and advocacy activities. During President Ghani’s visit to Sweden in December,

a new development cooperation agreement was signed. Afghanistan is the largest recipient of Swedish develop-ment aid, Sweden having pledged USD 1 billion to Afgha-nistan for the period 2015-2024.

However, this cannot conceal the fact that the political agenda in Europe is becoming less benevolent to the con-cept of development aid. Many governments have declared their intentions to cut levels of aid substantially. �ere is also an international pressure on re-de�ning the concept of development aid to also include military assistance. �is would be very unfortunate for some the most disadvanta-ged people in the world, and would also reduce the funding of civilian aid. �is trend needs to be counteracted.

WHAT DID SCA DO IN 2015? �e already established role of SCA as an expert organiza-tion was strengthened in 2015. When the number of Afghan refugees increased, so did the demand for SCA expertise. Media, authorities and institutions that met newly arrived refugees, such as school sta� or sta� at housing for newly arrived refugees, turned to SCA local committees and to the Stockholm Management O�ce for information.

Many SCA members have volunteered as trustees, trans-lating or informing at schools and migration authorities. �e mission of SCA is not to act as a refugee organization, but to improve conditions for the people of Afghanistan. But SCA members and local committees have in 2015 ful�lled a very important task in informing and raising awareness and in a very tangible way increased the public and politi-cal commitment for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

Members and local committees are at the center of rela-tions with the Swedish public. Aside from the 12 local com-mittees in Sweden and one in Kabul, there is an active net-work of young SCA members all over Sweden – SCA Youth.

In 2015, SCA members carried out approximately 100 external activities. �rough presentations and by spea-king at schools and associations, through fundraising campaigns and exhibitions, members informed about the work of SCA and strengthened public commitment.

SCA participated in the Almedalen week in Sweden, a signi�cant lobby event where civil-military relations, the development agenda and the role of women in peace pro-cesses was discussed. Several seminars were arranged in cooperation with SIDA. SCA also contributed to the “Var-berg Calling for Peace” conference in October, in which the peace process in Afghanistan was highlighted.

WHAT IS NEW OR HAS CHANGED? SCA introduced a new online platform and introduced a new visual identity for all SCA publications online and in

Public and political commitment in Sweden and in Europe for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

COMMITMENT IN SWEDEN MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN AFGHANISTAN

SWEDEN 2015 SCA OBJECTIVES IN 2015

■ The number of people who left Afgha-nistan increased. The number of per-sons seeking asylum in Sweden increased significantly, a development that received a lot of media attention.

■ An evaluation of the combined Swe-dish efforts in Afghanistan – civilian and military – was appointed.

■ Well-informed SCA members, deci-sion-makers and NGOs in Sweden increasingly raise public awareness, strengthen popular engagement and demand official support for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

■ Donors and policy makers make deci-sions informed by SCA’s policy and advocacy work.

■ The demand for SCA expertise increased from journalists, authorities and staff at institutions who meet and interact with newly arrived refugees.

■ SCA members and local committees shared their knowledge and thereby strengthened the popular and political commitment to the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

■ SCA highlighted the consequences of deducting the costs for administrating an increased number of refugees from the aid budget.

OBJECTIVE 5 | PUBLIC AND POLITICAL COMMITMENT

Secretary General Anna-Karin Johans-son appeared in 178 articles or broadcasts in 2015. Minister for International Deve-lopment Coopera-tion, Isabella Lövin, met SG Johansson prior to her visit to Afghanistan.

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print. Information on local and central activities can be found on www.sak.se. Four issues annually of Afghani-stan-nytt magazine is the SCA channel towards donors and members. Aside from news on developments in Afghani-stan, it includes information on and from the association.

Fundraising among the general public is an important part of SCA funding, acknowledging the public support and aiming for less dependency on major donors such as Sida, the World Bank and the EU. Other important donors are Jochnick Foundation, Postcode Lottery and Children of the World. �e monthly regular donors are vital for the sustainability of fundraising. Unfortunately, the number of monthly donors has decreased somewhat in the past year.

To renew the fundraising work of SCA, a fundraising advisory group was created comprised of persons with relevant experience, capacity and contacts. �e group will support SCA in the e�orts of attracting new donor groups.

CHANGE AND THE CONTRIBUTION OF SCA �e Swedish government remains committed by its long-term pledge to Afghanistan. �e Swedish development agency decided to award SCA an additional grant of USD 1.8 million at a point when the Swedish debate to a large extent was about reducing development aid in order to fund the increasing costs for refugee in Sweden.

�e Swedish government had indicated that the increased costs in Sweden related to the international refugee situation to a large degree, upwards 60% was mentioned, was to be deducted from the development aid budget. In the intense debate, SCA and other orga-nizations emphasized what the consequences of a redu-ced development budget would be. �e government later decided to limit deductions to 30%.

In 2015, SCA pointed out and won acceptance for their stance on assigning an ongoing evaluation of Sweden’s civil and military engagement in Afghanistan under the Ministry of Foreign A�airs rather than the Ministry of Defence. It is apparent that SCA has had an impact in the discussion on Afghanistan.

�e number of news articles and features in which SCA participated or was mentioned increased by 50% in 2015, partly being an e�ect of the refugee situation. Another

At the annual meeting in May, the Democracy Commission presented their final report. One of the recommendations approved by the Annual Meeting was establishing activity groups, intended to be the-matic and comprised of members from several local committees, according to the interest and commit-ment of individual members. The Annual General Meeting assigned the Board with investigating the possible introduction of support-memberships and organizational memberships. After an assessment, the Board decided not to implement these new forms of memberships. Many members and annual meeting delegates, as well as the Democracy Commission have expres-sed the view that the forms of the annual meeting need to be developed, improving the conditions for forming of opinions and discussing motions. On the basis of this, the Board continued to work on sug-gesting changes to the annual meeting procedure. Annual Meeting Motions mainly relating to the area of public commitment and the SCA Association were:Motion 2 | Regarding Afghanistan-nytt Motion 3 | Regarding Nils Horner Motion 4 | Regarding the SCA association activities Motion 5 | Regarding the establishment of a Afghanistan week Motion 6 | Regarding the new location of the Stockholm Management Office Motion 7 | Regarding financial statutes/regulations Motion 8 | Regarding the organization of SMO Motion 9 | Regarding the publishing council and association democracy Motion 10 | Regarding increased transparency in the activities of SCA YouthMotion 11 | Regarding a strengthened association

■ Working groups in Östersund, Örebro and Järpen arranged fundraising events, sold books and disseminated information about Afghanistan.

■ The local committee of Gothenburg organized several semi-nars open to the public, including one on Cultures of Honor. At the Gothenburg Book and Library fair, members raised money and arranged the very popular Afghan breakfast seminar.

■ Jönköping LC arranged a seminar with Anders Fänge in early 2015.

■ Kabul Local Committee visited Uppsala LC for talks, also attending the SCA annual meeting.

■ In Leksand, a screening of The Kite Runner" was arranged in conjunction with a lecture by Anders Rosén, former Informa-tion Coordinator of SCA in Kabul.

■ The local committees of Lund and Malmö co-arranged ”Skåne Afghanistan Week” in November, with activities at various locations in Skåne.

■ Skellefteå LC raised money for Children of the World, along with several other local committees.

■ Skövde/Skaraborg LC arranged a photo exhibition in Hjo and participated at the Lawyer Fair in Örebro together with SCA Youth.

Annual General Meeting 2015

A FEW OF THE MORE THAN 100 LOCAL COMMITTEE EVENTS IN 2015

Funding from the Postcode Lottery has enabled an expan-sion of the pedia-tric ward in War-dak, rehabilitation for more than 10,000 patients and a new school in Ghazni. Jochnick Founda-tion has funded edu-cation for children in nomadic families since 2012.

...persons were members of SCA in 2015.

3,685

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■ Stockholm LC continued to arrange their popular seminars in the ABF-house. Speakers included Dr. Sima Samar, chair of the Afghan Human Rights Commission and historian Chris-ter Hedin.

■ Sundsvall LC arranged a one lecture with Secretary General Anna-Karin Johansson at the Mittuniversitetet, and one open for the general public.

■ Södertälje LC raised 5,000 SEK by participating in a spring cleaning at Eklundsnäs recreational area.

■ SCA Youth arranged a musical evening for women in Goth-enburg, where the ticket revenues were given to SCA. SCA

Youth also arranged a study series on the historical identity in Afghanistan.

■ Uppsala LC appeared on local public radio regarding the situation of Afghan refugees and collaborated with a network of trustees.

■ Vänersborg LC arranged a seminar with board mem-ber Azada Najafi in connection with its annual meeting, and during the autumn, former SCA Kabul trainee Siri Sutcliffe Larsson gave presentations at the Museum of Bohuslän in Uddevalla arranged by Vänersborgs LC.

■ Växjö LC arranged a flea market to raise funds for SCA.

”Not committing to Afghanistan would be stupid!”

event that generated much attention was the visit of Presi-dent Ashraf Ghani to Sweden in November. �is coverage is vital in order for SCA to raise awareness of the situation in Afghanistan, its consequences globally and in Sweden, and to uphold the interest and commitment from politici-ans, donors and the public.

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS When the ISAF mission ended on December 31 2014 and most of the international troops le�, there was a wides-pread concern that Afghanistan would disappear from the public agenda, escape attention from media and that the

public commitment for the people of Afghanistan would wither. �is did not happen. One of the factors was the increasing number of refugees in the world, of which many from Afghanistan made their way to Sweden.

A concern has been that the number of SCA members would decrease, but it is stable. �e number of members in February 2015 was 3,681 and in 2016 it was 3,685. �e level of activity and commitment, indicated by the num-ber of activities carried out, remains at previous levels. However, it would be reasonable to assume that many members engage in activities aside of those arranged directly by SCA. ■

Professor Hans Rosling and Swedish artist Loreen were the main attractions in November, when SCA arranged a semi-nar in Stockholm. The SCA ambassador Loreen spoke with Lasse Bengtsson about her commitment to Afghanistan.

In front of an audience of more than 200, Pro-fessor Rosling spoke on Afghanistan and the future. In his very entertaining manner he won the attention of the audience showing that development is possible and has succeeded in many countries that used to be in the same dif-ficult position as Afghanistan today. His con-clusion is that what the rich world can do is to invest their efforts in a country such as Afgha-nistan. Speaking about the indications of reductions in development aid funding, he said that this was not a simple question and that politicians have very difficult issues to handle. But he added that he promised to chain himself to the door of the Swedish Ministry of Finance if the funding of SCA was reduced. The event was filmed and uploaded on You tube, where all or parts of the presentation was viewed more than 18,000 times in two months. Hans Ros-ling, who is one of the most sought after spea-kers in the world, appeared at no cost for SCA.


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There is no doubt that the level of con�ict has made the operations of SCA increasingly di�-cult. �e number of civilian casualties is higher than ever since 2002. Fighting between Afghan

security forces and armed opposition groups add to the volatility, but also crime and internal �ghting between frac-tions of the armed opposition groups. It raises concerns on the risks that the organization exposes its �eld sta� to, but also people in the served communities. SCA has a great responsibility to carry.

Aside from the consequences for the population, in 2015, 50 workers from non-governmental organizations were killed. Another 44 were wounded and 108 were abducted according to INSO, the International NGO Safety Organi-zation. �ree of the kidnappings involved expatriates.

�e degree of insecurity in the rural areas in which SCA operates has varied between provinces and over the course of the year. Fragmented opposition, government as well as opposition groups not respecting the neutrality of SCA facilities, crime – all leads to increasing di�culties in recruiting sta�, securing logistics and monitoring and evaluating activities.

ENSURING NEUTRALITY AND IMPARTIALITY – RISK MITIGATIONWhile SCA is a neutral organization, it still faces di�cul-ties maintaining this message in insecure areas. SCA stra-tegies to mitigate risks include engaging with the com-munity and negotiating access before initiating any new activities. Acceptance and trust from the communities is essential. By refusing to implement activities until com-

munities have successfully resolved local con�icts, SCA has so far been able to work with some safety in areas where few other organizations can. But this might very well change.

A strive for impartiality and transparency, along with good reputation usually provides SCA with the acceptance needed to implement projects, also in areas and provinces that are under the control of the armed opposition.

However, SCA has faced intrusions by both armed opposition groups and national security forces, both accu-sing SCA of favoritism to opposing parties. SCA clinics have been searched by international forces, national for-ces and armed opposition groups. SCA carefully follows security developments and the analyses made daily, taking measures accordingly.

Security culture has been a priority and has improved in recent years. In 2015, risk mitigation plans were deve-loped by the programmes, highlighting risk mitigation as a key whenever planning activities. Also, e�orts have been put into improving reporting, coordinating and following up on reported security incidents.

Because there is frequent insecurity in the �eld, there is a risk of sta� becoming inured to violence, o�en only reporting the most serious incidents. �e number of inci-dents reported within SCA more than doubled in 2015. �e analysis of this rise is not conclusive, it could be att-ributed to an actual increase, but also the internal clari�-cation of what SCA sta� should consider a security inci-dent, as well as better coordination between programmes and security units. �is strengthened security reporting aims at detecting long-term changes and e�ects on our

CONFLICT, RISK AND SECURITY

PHOTO | BASIR SEERAT, THE PICTURE IS PART OF THE EXIBITION AFGHAN TALES

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SEPTEMBER 28

TALIBAN TAKEOVER OF KUNDUZ

activities, such as women avoiding to seek out SCA clinics when the con�ict level increases.

NOTABLE INCIDENTS IN 2015On 8 April in Wardak Province, a truck transporting SCA textbooks and stationary supplies was stopped by armed opposition. �e driver and the supplier were taken to a nearby village. A�er several hours, both men, the truck and materials were released via community mediation and SCA security assistance. �e supplier was beaten while in cus-tody, but his condition was later assessed as �ne. �e reason claimed for the incident was that SCA did not have permis-sion to operate in the area, which in fact was not true. �e community had invited SCA, though the opposition group was new to the area and not aware of the arrangement.

On 12 April, in Laghman Province, an unknown armed group set �re to a clinic operated by SCA. �e clinic guard was present at the time and was alerted by commu-nity members banging on pots and alarming. Neighbors gathered to assist in extinguishing the �re, also �ring war-ning shots in the air at the arsonists. �is is the �rst inci-dent of a SCA run clinic being burned. Upon questioning, local armed opposition groups denied responsibility for this incident. A�er further investigation, it was determi-ned that the incident likely stemmed from a personal dis-pute, rather than the Taliban.

On 23rd May, in Wardak Province, Afghan National Army occupied a SCA clinic and engaged with an armed oppo-sition group resulting in two killed and �ve injured sol-diers. No civilian casualties, although the �ghting caused damage to the facilities.

On 25 May, in Wardak Province, two SCA school consul-tants and a driver were abducted by the Taliban on route

to monitor SCA schools. During a meeting held in the house belonging to the headmaster of one school, three armed men abducted one of the consultants and the dri-ver. �e men were also looking for the other consultant, although she managed to escape the village with the help of the community. Both men were �nally released a�er community mediation. �e opposition group stated that they detained the school consultants since some of the schools were not registered with the Taliban and others were not functioning as planned.

On 21 May 2015, in Samangan Province, Taliban thre-atened to attack the government district headquarters. �ough the threat was not directed at SCA, programme sta� relocated due to the close proximity of the o�ce to the indicated target. �ere was as credible risk of colla-teral damage to SCA. �e situation was monitored clo-sely, SCA continuing a dialogue with community elders and the local shura (council), �nally leading management to decide on relocating the o�ce to avoid having govern-ment facilities nearby.

July 6-15, in Wardak Province, Afghan National Security forces occupied an SCA clinic stopping SCA sta� from operating it and providing care to civilians.

In October 2015, SCA received information of a possible threat towards expatriate staff in Kabul. As many expa-triates at the time were on leave and out of Afghanis-tan, it was decided after careful assessment to evacuate those who were not. This made time for further eva-luation, review of security procedures and necessary arrangements. During the evacuation, international staff were working from Sweden and other locations until the end of the year, returning to Kabul in early 2016. ■

On Monday September 28, the Taliban launched a large-scale assault against Kunduz City, upwards of 3,000 fighters attacked the provincial capital of the northern Kunduz Province. In what can only be des-cribed as a significant coup for the Taliban, this was the first time that the Taliban have managed to gain control over a provincial capital since 2001.

The attackers set fire to governmental establish-ments, the UNAMA compound and several non-governmental organizations were looted. More than 600 prisoners from Kunduz prison, many of them members of the Taliban, were set free. SCA was also looted and lost two vehicles.

Upon the attack, SCA staff were instructed to lock-down the office. Throughout the fighting, SCA staff was regularly contacted and given security advice. When the city was re-captured by ANSF, staff retur-ned gradually and re-opened the office after thorough security assessments.

During the fighting for control over Kunduz, the hospi-tal run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) came under attack for several hours, resulting in at least 30 persons killed. Shocking to the international community, the main perpetrators were international and Afghan Natio-nal Security Forces. Twelve of those killed in the aerial bombardment were staff of Doctors Without Borders.

A preliminary investigation described how hospi-tal staff were being shot from helicopters while run-ning for safety in the compound. Two patients at the hospital appeared to be high-ranking Taliban, making MSF strongly believe that the hospital was delibera-tely targeted.

The attack on Kunduz shook the confidence of many regarding the capacity of ANSF. In neighbou-ring cities, many abandoned their homes in fear of the Taliban repeating the takeover. The incident also made very clear the risks involved for humanitarian and development staff in Afghanistan.

A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT IN LAGHMANUnfortunately, SCA clinics have also been used as cover during major ope-rations by ANSF, as they often are the only solid buildings in the area. While SCA saw this develop-ment in both Lagh-man and Wardak in the last two years, it was only witnessed in Wardak this year and at a much lower level, which is a wel-come development. This change could be in relation to out-reach towards both communities and authorities on the principles of neutra-lity, impartiality and independence over the last two years.

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CORRUPTION AND CRIMEAfghanistan is one of the countries in the world most affec-ted by corruption. According to a recent report from Trans-parency Internatio-nal, Afghanistan now ranks 166 out of 168 countries in terms of corruption.

Corruption is not only an issue of o�cials taking advantage of their position. Corruption in Afghanistan is both driver and consequence of the internal con�ict, inseparable from the

opium economy, the political ine�ciency and foreign assistance – both military and civilian.

SCA is well aware that corruption permeates public and private structures. �e new government has wowed to curb corruption. In 2015, �ve former ministers have been referred to the high court on charges of corruption and misuse of power in 2015. Even if convicted, nothing really indicates that corruption in Afghanistan is decrea-sing, on the contrary.

According to the Asia Foundation's Annual Survey of Afghan People 2015, a staggering 90% say that corruption is a major problem in their daily lives. Corruption is a major obstacle for development and the most vulnerable always su�er its consequences the most. It has severe consequen-ces for the everyday life of the target groups of SCA. In the end, corruption results in their human rights not being met.

SCA is o�en recognized by communities, donors and authorities for being e�cient and vigilant of corruption, which is perhaps a result of activities being of good quality and due to the organization’s accountability towards target groups and donors.

Nevertheless, this reputation could easily become tar-

nished. Fraud and corruption easily take root, and no organization is ever immune. SCA is well aware that cor-ruption and internal fraud a�ect SCA as well.

ACCOUNTABILITY AS AN ALTERNATIVESCA’s sta� live and work in an environment in which cor-ruption is almost always a factor. Employees might be solicited for bribes when handling matters that demand authority involvement, when procuring on behalf of SCA or in their private lives. Pressure might also occur bet-ween employees within the organization, o�en stemming from private relations.

Promoting transparency and o�ering accountability, SCA aims to provide an alternative working environment and e�cient use of invested time and funds for donors and the people we work with.

SCA management is committed to dealing with corrup-tion and other irregularities decisively, even though respon-sibility for addressing these not only rests with manage-ment, but also with sta� and those concerned outside of the organization. �e SCA anti-corruption policy emphasizes prevention, including closing windows of opportunity for irregularities, but also the importance of adequate control systems. In the short perspective, SCA pays a high price for not accepting corrupt behavior. Not bribing o�cials o�en causes severe delays and signi�cant extra costs. ■

THE CULTIVATION OF OPIUM POPPY is an important factor in the conflict and affects the whole of Afghanistan. About 90 percent of the heroin produced globally comes from Afghan opium. Opium production, which has increased steadily over a number of years, was reduced in 2015 by 48 percent. Despite the decline, it is the fourth largest harvest since 1994. Just under half was harvested in Helmand province alone. The harvest decresead mainly due to lower returns in the fields as well as safer calculation methods. In the early 2000s several provinces were reported opium free. But now the number of provinces where opium is grown is increasing – in 2015 19-20 of the country's 34 provinces.

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THE FOLLOWING WERE SOME OF THE MAIN PREVENTIVE UNDERTAKINGS IN 2015

■ Aiming to close windows of opportunity for corruption, monitoring and internal auditing has been strengthened. The SCA procurement manual has been revised.

■ Communication and coordination with project staff was strengthened, adding control elements of comparison with historical and geographical data to detect irregularities, mismanagement or fraud in projects.

■ Open management discussions on anti-corruption mechanisms and prevention, involving all SCA senior staff. ■ Responsibilities were further segregated and the level of authority was revised. ■ An anti-corruption risk assessment was planned for 2015, but due to the evacuation of SCA expatriate staff

because of security reasons the assessment was delayed to 2016.

Throughout the year, a number of irregularities led to the termination of three staff members and another three receiving written warnings. The total monetary loss of SCA due to these cases is estimated at SEK 85,000.

■ By producing fake documents, an SCA school consultant continued to receive salary for six teachers who had left SCA for security reasons. The school consultant was terminated, while two others received written war-nings for not earlier detecting the case during their monitoring missions.

■ A manager within administration was terminated for having intentionally setting aside a control system, resul-ting in the possible siphoning of fuel from SCA offices.

■ One health staff member was terminated for selling food items from the health facility where he worked. A guard at the location was issued with written warning due to his negligence in duty in relation to this.

All SCA employ-ees are obliged to report all suspec-ted cases of cor-ruption. This can be done anonymously by e-mail or in wri-ting. The Board of SCA is continu-ously informed about cases of corruption and embezzlement within the organiza-tion. In cases invol-ving partner organi-zations, SCA shall take all possible steps to ensure that the partner organiza-tion takes appropri-ate actions.Reports of suspec-ted corruption can be sent to [email protected]

CORRUPT PRACTICE | The abuse of entrusted power and authority for private gains by offering, giving, receiving or soliciting, directly or indirectly, anything of value to benefit or to influence improperly the actions of another party.

FRAUDULENT PRACTICE | Any act that knowingly or recklessly misleads a party to obtain a benefit or to avoid an obligation. Such fraud may include embezzlement of funds or assets, forgery of documents, theft, nepotism, concealment of material facts and misuse of funds and assets for purposes other than those stated in donor agreements.

COERCIVE PRACTICE | Impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or harm, directly or indirectly, any party or the property of the party to influence improperly the actions of a party for private gains.

SCA DEFINES FRAUD AND CORRUPTION AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

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INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT OF SCA – A CONTINUOUS PROCESS

SCA initiated its work in Afghanistan more than three decades ago, initially only providing humanitarian assistance in the absence of a fun-ctional state. A lot has changed since then. While

remaining true to core values, SCA realizes that it must develop and adapt to the circumstances and context to be able to achieve changes in the lives of the most vul-nerable groups. Admittedly, sometimes the adapting has been a slow process.

�e past decade has meant a continuous shi� for SCA; from humanitarian to development programming, from a needs-based to a rights-based approach, and from acti-vity-based management to results-based.

In 2015, SCA saw the beginning of the end of a pro-cess that started in 2010 with the writing of a new policy, adopted in 2012. It was followed by a new strategic plan for 2014-17, again including e�orts from sta�, members, target groups and external stakeholders.

�e Strategic Plan clari�ed the role of the three strategic means of SCA – service delivery, capacity development and advocacy – emphasizing the strengthening of the lat-ter two components. �e new plan includes �ve strategic objectives to which all SCA departments and units, as well as the members, contribute. Even before the strategic plan was in place, it was understood that SCA would need to improve internal capacity and adjust its structures to be able to meet the objectives set.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT In 2014 an organizational development process was ini-tiated. Reviewing structure, culture, capacity, decision-making and information �ow within SCA, the conclu-sions covered a wide spectrum.

However thorough and grounded the process of change is within an organization, it is easy to overemphasize the importance of formal structure. Many changes rather relate to how we manage to keep our agreed principles and guidelines in mind in our daily work, actually adhe-

ring to formal decision. Other changes begin in our mind-set and relate to how we act towards each other.

�e formal structure of SCA was in many ways found appropriate but in need of �ne-tuning. A�er internal considerations and based on the recommendations of the review, in 2015 SCA set out to adjust its organiza-tional setup.

A major change was the decentralization of decision-making authority to the �eld level. SCA created �ve Regio-nal Managements O�ces, each led by a Head of O�ce, beli-eving that operations will bene�t from decisions on imple-mentation being made closer to target groups. �e O�ces will be further capacitated with resources in cross-cutting areas, planning and reporting, administration and HR.

�e Programme Operations Department is responsible for follow-up of the �eld activities and includes the cross-cutting sectors capacity building, civil society, gender and human rights.

A stronger relationship for managing technical issues is built between Regional Management O�ces, the Admi-nistration Department and the Finance Department, to ensure alignment and adherence to formal structures, procedures and regulations.

Located under the Country Director in Afghanistan, responsibility for monitoring and evaluation has been separated from that of planning and reporting, creating two units. �e latter report functionally to the Secretary General, providing resources to strategically steer the organization.

Also reporting to the Country Director in Afgha-nistan are units for advocacy, communication, internal audit and security.

A function as Country Director in Sweden has been created. �e aim is to further disconnect the Secre-tary General from operational issues in Stockholm, free resources to strategically steer the organization and strengthen communication between the o�ces in Kabul and in Stockholm. ■

A REVIEW IN 2014 LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES IN 2015Notable findings of the review were the need of

■ Decentralized decision-making, giving Project Offices more responsibilities, capacity and authority. ■ Clarifying roles and responsibilities. ■ Strengthening of systems for control and feedback to ensure accountability. ■ Strengthening of forms and structures for internal cooperation and coordination. ■ Strengthening of internal information flow, planning, reporting and grant management. ■ A more strategic approach to internal competence development.

43


GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF SCA

Secretary GeneralSG Secreteriat

Country Director Afghanistan

Communication unit

M&E Unit

Advocacy Unit Security Advisory Unit

Planning and Reporting Unit

Internal Audit Unit

Country Director Sweden

Aid Cooperation Unit

Finance & Admin unit

Communication unit

Deputy Country Director

Programme Department

Target Groups

SCA Board MembersAnnual Meeting

FinanceDepartment

Programme Director

Civil Society & Capacity Dev Unit

Human Rights & Gender Unit

Education Programme Unit

Health Programme Unit

Disability Inclusive Programme Unit

Rural Dev Programme Unit

AdministrationDepartment

Regional Management Office x5Head of Regional Office

Human Resources

Project Unit Admin Unit Finance UnitCapacity Dev & Methods Unit

M&E

Communication

Service Support Unit

Procurement Unit

Logistic Unit

Human Resource Unit

ICT Unit

Administration Director Finance Director Dep Country Dir

Finance KMO Unit

Accounts Unit

Fixed Assets UnitBudget Coordination

SWEDENAFGHANISTAN

44


SCA's internal organization did change in 2015, but not dramatically. The size of staff was slightly reduced, but those already employed by SCA were a priority and are now the foundation of the present organization.

STAFF

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

Field staff Project and field offices

Kabul Management Office

Stockholm Management Office

3,000

3,500

4,000

WomenMen

SCA STAFF (December 31, 2015)

20032004200520062007200820092010

2012

20015050 100

106 148

139 156

147144 148

183 179

229

Afghan staff in Afghanistan | 99,4%

International staff in Afghanistann | 0,27%

Staff in Sweden | 0,35%

Men Women

Field staff 2,899 1,024

Regional and field offices 797 218

Kabul Management Office 196 33

Stockholm Management Office 7 11

Grand total 5,185

45


THE BOARD

PEDER JONSSON | Chairperson: Elected 2010, chairperson since May 2014. Contact person to the Kabul Local Com-mittee. Senior partner of Kreab. Researching on public relations at the Department of Industrial Economics and Management at the Royal Institute of Technology. Member of The Swedish Academy of Verbovisual Information. Lives in Stockholm.

BENGT KRISTIANSSON | Vice Chairperson: Elected 2013, con-tact person to the Gothenburg Local Committee. Pediatri-cian with a long experience in development. Initiated the SCA programme for rehabilitation of Afghans with disa-bilities. Secretary General for SCA in 2002-2008. Lives in Stockholm.

INGER AXELL | Elected 2013, contact person to the Local Committees in Stockholm and Södertälje. Lawyer with a long experience working with development and anti-cor-ruption. Has been an advisor in human rights and gender to the EU special representative in Kabul. Lives in Stock-holm.

ANDERS FÄNGE | Elected 2011, contact person to the Local Committees in Lund and Malmö. Country Director of SCA for a total of 19 years since 1983. Has also worked in Ethiopia, Central Asia, Somalia and on the West Bank. Lectures on Afghanistan on a professional basis in addi-tion to his commitment to SCA. Lives in Viken.

DAG KLACKENBERG | Elected 2015, contact for the local committee in Skellefteå. Member of Parliament for the Moderaterna Party and worked for the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1974-2001. Thereafter CEO for the Swe-dish Trade Federation and Chairperson for Vattenfall. Lives in Stockholm.

HANS LINDE | Elected 2009, contact person to the Local Committee in Vänersborg. Member of Parliament for the Left Party, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the joint committees that processed the Swedish mili-tary presence in Afghanistan. Lives in Gothenburg.

SIWITA M NASSER | Elected 2010. Contact person to the Local Committee in Växjö. Born in Kabul and has studied global politics and human rights with a special commit-ment towards Afghanistan, gender equality and migration. Founding member of SCA Youth. Works for the Migration Agency. Lives in Malmö.

SHIRIN PERSSON | Elected 2014, contact person to the Local Committee in Skövde / Skaraborg. Lawyer in international law, human rights and gender, with 25 years of experience of international development cooperation, also in Afgha-nistan. Lives in Falköping.

CARIN RUNESON | Elected 2014, contact person to the Local Committee in Uppsala. Active member of the Social Democratic Party, former Member of Parliament. Working as a journalist for 20 years, but as of 1992 she has been a full-time politician. Lives in Smedjebacken.

FRESHTA DOST | Substitute: Elected 2014, contact person to the Local Committee in Jönköping. Born in Kabul and has lived in Sweden since 2000. She has an MA in media, communications and human rights. Researcher and pro-duction manager for Swedish National Television. Lives in Mölndal.

KAJSA JOHANSSON | Substitute: Elected 2015, contact per-son to the Local Committee in Sundsvall. PhD student at the Linné University in Växjö. Has been Civil Society Coor-dinator for SCA in Afghanistan, and worked for several organizations in Mocambique. Lives in Hjo.

THE SCA BOARD 2015-2016The Board is composed of nine members and two deputies. It has the overall respon-sibility for all activities in Sweden and in Afghanistan. Their work is regulated by the SCA statutes and the Board’s rules of procedure. In 2014, the Board held six regular and one constituent meeting. A visit to Afghanistan was planned for the fall of 2015, but was can-celled due to the security situation.

46


47


WINTER in Bamiyan Province.

PHOTO | MOHAMMAD DAWOOD WASSL, THE PICTURE IS PART OF THE EXIBITION AFGHAN TALES

48


SCA 2015�e mission of SCA is to empower individuals, commu-nities and local organizations, primarily in rural areas and with particular focus on our target groups: women, child-ren, persons with disabilities so that they may participate fully in society and in�uence their own development.

�e medium-term objectives of SCA are set in the Strategic Plan 2014-17, with 2015 being the second year of work under the current plan. �e plan entails a con-tinued shi� towards a rights-based approach, integration of SCA programmes and management by �ve shared stra-tegic objectives:

OBJECTIVE 1 | HEALTH. Equitable access to and utilisation of health services by women, children, persons with disa-bilities and rural communities.

OBJECTIVE 2 | EDUCATION. Equal access to quality educa-tional opportunities.

OBJECTIVE 3 | RURAL LIVELIHOODS. Women, persons with disabilities and vulnerable rural households are making a secure means of living that provides resilience against shocks and emergencies.

OBJECTIVE 4 | COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE. Community members are actively engaged in decision-making, in�u-encing the development of their communities and are able to hold relevant stakeholders to account.

OBJECTIVE 5 | PUBLIC AND POLITICAL COMMITMENT. Public and political commitment in Sweden and in Europe for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

SCA employs a rights-based approach, using three strate-

gic means; service delivery such as health care or schools, capacity development of village councils or local authori-ties and advocacy in Afghanistan, Sweden and internatio-nally. SCA prioritizes working in areas that the govern-ment or other organizations do not cover, and with people who are excluded from access to health care and educa-tion if at all available. SCA is organizationally indepen-dent; however, it does cooperate within local, national and international civil society.

A substantial internal work during the year was the organizational development of SCA for the best possible conditions to meet the objectives. �e ongoing con�ict in Afghanistan has remained a constant challenge for SCA. Insecurity causes di�culties for logistics, monito-ring and evaluation as well as exposing both sta� and target groups to risk. Also in Kabul has this been a con-cern during 2015, threats against expatriate sta� leading SCA to temporarily keeping expatriates out of Afghani-stan during the end of the year.

ONE ORGANIZATION – IN AFGHANISTAN AND SWEDEN�e SCA membership association is composed of 12 local committees in Sweden and one in Afghanistan, informing and raising commitment for the rights of the people of Afghanistan. �e Secretary General of SCA works from both Stockholm and Kabul, but is mainly stationed at the Stockholm Management O�ce.

In Sweden, the Communication Unit o�ers support to local committees and members, administers the website www.sak.se, social media and media contacts, and publishes the quarterly magazine Afghanistan-Nytt and other infor-mation materials. Fundraising is carried out by sta� and members among the public. SCA is a member of the Swe-dish Fundraising Council (FRII) and holds 90-accounts.

ADMINISTRATION REPORT

FINAL ACCOUNT

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (registration no. 802010 – 4850) is a membership-based, non-governmental and non-profit organization founded on the principles of solidarity and support from people to people. According to the statutes of SCA (§1.2), the purpose of SCA is to:

■ support Afghanistan’s national independence. ■ conduct development work in Afghanistan to promote democratic, economic and social development in the country.

■ conduct fundraising operations to obtain funds for SCA’s development activities. ■ disseminate information about conditions in Afghanistan and about SCA’s develop-ment activities, and to shape public opinion and thereby promote solidarity with the people of Afghanistan.

49


�e activities are reviewed annually by the Swedish Fundraising Control. SCA complies with the FRII Code of Quality and published an e�ciency report in 2014. In Sweden there are also support units for Finance & Administration and Aid Coordination.

In Afghanistan, activities in rural areas are car-ried out through �ve Regional Management O�-ces, supported by the Kabul Management O�ce (KMO). KMO is headed by the Country Direc-tor and consists of an Administration Department, a Finance Department and a Programme Depart-ment. �e latter leads the implementation of acti-vities within four programmatic areas – education, health, rural development and disability inclusion – and two cross-cutting areas – Civil Society & Capa-city Development and Human Rights & Gender.

In 2015, SCA continued supporting Community Based Education in rural areas, as of 2015 also inclu-ding what was formerly known as girls’ annexes. Other areas of activity are coaching classes, inclusion of children with disabilities in regular schools, capa-city development of teachers and local authorities and advocacy at both local and national level.

Within the sector of health, SCA implemented Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS) and Essen-tial Package of Hospital Services (EPHS) in Laghman and Wardak provinces. Activities also included edu-cation of midwives and community nurses, advo-cacy, awareness-raising in communities and schools, capacity development of Afghan civil society such as the Afghan Midwife Association.

Community councils were supported to plan and carry out infrastructure projects, initiate vil-lage savings and loan associations or provide voca-tional training. All to strengthen the capacity of rural communities to implement activities accor-ding to their own agendas, as well as to strengthen rural livelihoods, especially targeting women and persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities is an SCA target group, and their inclusion is a priority cutting across all other interventions, such as education and health care. SCA also delivers specialized services such as vocational training and physical rehabilitation, as well as engages in capacity development of civil society.

RESULTS AND IMPACTSCA reports on results and impact in relation to �ve strategic objectives, set out in the Strategic Plan for 2014-17. It is essential to distinguish between results in terms of output and long-term change, and also to realize that the relation between the two and any cau-sality is very di�cult to verify even under the best of circumstances. Results in terms of numerical deve-lopment, such as number of students or patients, may be measured on an annual basis but measuring impact requires a longer perspective. �erefore, over-all impact is assessed mainly at the strategic period level 2014-17, even though indications of change and impact are analyzed and reported annually.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 | HEALTH. Equitable access to and utilisation of health services by women,

children, persons with disabilities and rural com-munities.

One indication of improved health is that the pro-portion of children under �ve who need treatment for diarrhea at SCA clinics and hospitals decreased. �is is very welcome as diarrhea and dehydration is a major cause of death among children. �is result could possibly vary in relation to other factors and needs further monitoring.

Maternal mortality is decreasing, even though �gures are currently scrutinized and the improve-ments on national level might be overestimated. However, it is con�rmed that the number of births assisted by health sta� at SCA clinics increased by six percent in 2015, a result that could be linked to SCA’s education of midwives.

Increased awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities could be related to the more frequent referral of patients to SCA rehabilitation services. However, SCA still needs to strengthen its inter-nal capacity and improve inclusion of persons with disabilities already at the project design stage.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 | EDUCATION. Equal access to quality educational opportunities.

Worsening security and pressure from armed groups has in some cases led to the closure of schools. �ere are examples in 2015 of the e�orts in strengthening of community education coun-cils having e�ect, with the number of requests for new schools from community councils to local or provincial authorities increasing. Communities have also mobilised in favour of the right of girls to education, demanding coaching classes for young women and enabling them to graduate. If this turns out to be a sustainable impact of the work with community councils, it represents signi�cant pro-gress towards the right of education for all; girls, boys and children with disabilities.

�e quality of education is poor all over Afgha-nistan and the lack of textbooks is a particularly problematic issue. SCA has together with other civil society actors put signi�cant pressure on the government to address this, but so far without tangible results.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 | RURAL LIVELIHOOD OPP-ORTUNITIES. Women, persons with disabilities and vulnerable rural households are making a secure means of living that provides resilience against shocks and emergencies.

�e many projects carried out by community development councils, such as irrigation or hydro-power plants, has an impact on rural livelihoods. But the SCA-supported councils also facilitate other activities such as self-help groups, micro loans, business training and networking. However, 45 self-help groups could not be initiated as planned due to con�ict, resulting in 750 families not being able to receive training or micro loans.

An internal study in 2015 found that 71% of those who underwent SCA vocational training either found jobs or started their own business. �is is especially important for the most marginalized

50


groups; women and persons with disabilities, for whom the contribution of an income to their families represents signi�cant empowerment.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 | LOCAL GOVERNANCE. Commu-nity members are actively engaged in decision-making, in�uencing the development of their communities and are able to hold relevant stakeholders to account.

In 2015 an umbrella organization for teachers asso-ciations was formed facilitated by SCA. Aiming to pro-mote coordination and ownership of teacher committees in rural areas, it is a means to hold education authorities accountable and have an impact on the quality of edu-cation.

Activities of local governance structures, such as com-munity councils, are di�cult to overview, although through many years of support for community councils, it is the experience of SCA that they implement activities with increased e�ciency over time.

Local authorities have reportedly taken on more responsibility for providing services such as physiothe-rapy and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities. Alt-hough di�cult to verify, this could be an indication of aut-horities actually better responding to the rights of persons with disabilities and their advocacy e�orts.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5 | PUBLIC AND POLITICAL COM-MITMENT. Public and political commitment in Sweden and in Europe for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.

A result of SCA e�orts in Sweden is the signi�cant increase in media coverage of Afghanistan and SCA, but it is also related to the increased number of refugees from Afghanistan arriving in Sweden. Causality is di�cult to establish in relation to advocacy activities, but despite the signi�cant decrease in overall Swedish presence in Afgha-nistan following the withdrawal of ISAF, and the deduc-tions from aid to cover the cost of refugee administration, SCA managed to remain at its level of funding from the Swedish government. �e work done both by the public in general and SCA members speci�cally in assisting autho-rities, schools and organizations in receiving refugees all over Sweden is an indication of public commitment. �e number of SCA members is stable and the local commit-tees maintained their high level of activity.

MEMBERS AND ANNUAL MEETING�e Annual Meeting was held on May 30 in Uppsala, hosted by the Uppsala Local Committee. All local commit-tees were represented, including Kabul. Out of 90 registe-red delegates, 60 were present. �e Democracy Commis-sion, appointed in 2013, presented its �nal report. It resul-ted in the Annual Meeting deciding to encourage the for-mation of activity groups within SCA. �e membership fee was kept unchanged. In 2015, SCA had 3,685 members. Eighteen motions were submitted to the annual meeting.

FUNDRAISING�e �nancial result for SCA’s fundraising 90-accounts, 90 07 80-8 and 90 01 20-7, was 16,088,888 SEK, which is an increase by about 13.3 %. Of the result, about 7.3 MSEK were contributions from SCA sponsors and about 8.7 MSEK other donations. A dividend from the Swed-bank Robur Humanfond of 110,000 SEK is included in the result. �e cost of fundraising was 3.4 MSEK, or 21.3 % of

the income. SCA is a bene�ciary to the Post Code Lottery and received 10.2 MSEK in 2015. Water for All contribu-ted 0.2 MSEK. On top of SCA’s own fundraising, Radio Aid, Jochnick Foundation and Afghan Connection con-tributed with 13.5 MSEK.

MANAGEMENT AND DECISIONSIn 2015, the SCA Board and Secretary General approved several new or revised policy or governing documents; notably the Procurement and Supply Manual, Guideli-nes to Facilitate External Audit, and Crisis Management Team Terms of Reference. SCA also adopted a new fun-ding strategy a�er concluding a need to broaden the funding base and increase the equity, and an investment policy according to which SAK should invest ethically and at low risk. Donated securities should be sold within six months.

�e large decrease in value of SEK in relation to USD and AFS was a considerable challenge for SCA, resul-ting in a budget de�cit. �e yearly average SEK/USD rate was 16% lower when the budget was set than the actual result. �is was somewhat counteracted by the declining AFS. Budgets and plans were revised, which mitigated the e�ects of the exchange rate �uctuations. All modi�cations were communicated to the relevant donors.

Early in 2015 SCA entered a three year agreement with SIDA of 510 million SEK. During the autumn SCA was granted an additional 15 million SEK, to ensure continu-ity in operations as well as secure that SCA could manage to tackle the security challenges in Afghanistan.

PRESENT AND FUTURE RISKSSCA is exposed to a wide range of risks. �e fact that security continued to deteriorate throughout 2015 meant increased risks for both employees and the people SCA are working with and for, in rural and urban areas alike. �is a�ects all operations negatively, including planning, recruitment, logistics as well as monitoring and control.

�e high degree of, and increasing, corruption in Afghanistan a�ects e�ciency, but it is also an internal threat that can seriously harm the work and reputation of SCA. �e unreliable Afghan banking system continues to be a �nancial risk as well as a practical problem. Howe-ver, in 2015 SCA started using Afghan banks when pay-ing salaries. SCA needs to weigh the risks associated with the Afghan banks against that of cash management. SCA is dependent on a few large donors for its activities. �e proportion of own fundraising is low, which is a risk to the continuity of SCA operations.

FINANCIAL RESULTS AND SITUATION SCA has a continued stable �nancial base. �e total of the balance sheet was 105.0 MSEK for 2015, compared to 105.1 MSEK for 2014. Of this, 69.5 MSEK relates to SCA working capital and earmarked funds entirely belonging to the organization. SCA’s working capital and fundrai-sing increased by 5 MSEK from 2014 to 2015. �e average exchange rate in 2015 was USD 1 = SEK 8.4583. No major loss in cash or kind occurred in 2015, aside of what is pre-sented under the heading Anti-Corruption.

ANTI-CORRUPTION Afghanistan is one of the countries in the world most a�ec-ted by corruption. SCA works actively against corruption at

51


50,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

2003200420052006200720082009201020112012

250

200

150

100

50

0

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

20015050 100

106 148

139 156

147144 148

183 179

229

Education | 30%

Rural Development | 10%

Programme Development | 6%

Health | 34%

Disabilities 20%

SCA PROGRAMME OPERATIONS 2006-2015 (In 1,000 SEK)

SCA OPERATIONS PER PROGRAM IN 2015

156

147

144 148

183

179

229 24

1

233 24

6

FIVE-YEAR OVERVIEW (In 1,000 SEK)

50,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300 000

BUDGET AND ACTUAL EXPENSES 2006-2015 (In 1,000 SEK)

BudgetExpenses

REVENUES (In MSEK))

2003200420052006200720082009201020112012

250

200

150

100

50

0

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

20015050 100

106 148

139 156

147144 148

183 179

229

Sida | 180.9

Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan 47.8

Others28.5

WorldBank | 7.2

Financial Five-Year Overview 2015 2014 2013* 2012 2011

Revenues 284,300 260,623 266,836 246,042 203,418

Project costs 251,917 239,563 259,679 237,174 185,745

Fundraising costs 3,427 3,868 2,514 3,338 2,943

Administration costs 24,888 17,095 8,172 7,616 6,298

Result of operations 4,068 98 7,157 8,868 8,432

Result after financial investments 4,401 175 7,327 10,788 8,619

Balance sheet sum 105,022 105,101 91,994 113,113 130,973

Fundraising and administration costs as % of total revenues 10.0% 8.0% 4.0% 4.5% 4.5%

* Comparisons for 2013 have been changed according to K3.

Fundrainsing and membership fees | 20.1

52


all levels. All employees are obliged to report any suspected cases of corruption, and the Board is continuously infor-med about cases of corruption and embezzlement within the organization. �e Internal Audit Unit reports directly to both the Country Director and the Secretary General. In 2015, irregularities led to three sta� members being termi-nated with immediate e�ect and three sta� members recei-ving written warnings. �e total monetary loss of SCA due to these cases is estimated at SEK 85,000.

By producing fake documents, a school consultant con-tinued to receive salary for six teachers who had le� SCA due to security reasons. �e school consultant was termi-nated while two others were warned for not having detec-ted the case earlier in their monitoring.

A manager within administration was terminated for having intentionally set aside control systems, resulting in the� of fuel being made the possible from SCA facilities.

One sta� member was terminated for selling food items from the health facility where he worked. A guard at the location was warned due to negligence in duty in relation to this.

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN 2016 AND PLANS FOR THE FUTUREIn January 2016, international SCA sta� returned to Kabul a�er working from abroad since mid-September, many of them relocating to the expanded SCA compound. In late 2015 SCA took over a neighboring compound providing it with o�ce space facilities and guest rooms. �e contract for a previous location was terminated.

In February, Afghan Security Forces, supported by international sta�, raided a SCA Health Clinic, executing two patients and one accompanying civilian child and committing several violations against human rights. SCA sta� was beaten and interrogated.

Late in 2015 SCA signed four three-year contracts; two with EU funding, one with Jochnick Foundation and one with Shifo Foundation (funded by IKEA Foundation). All current SCA contracts for National Solidarity Programme (NSP), BPHS and EPHS will end 2016.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENTAiming for improved e�ciency, SCA has reviewed struc-tures, capacity, decision-making and information �ow within SCA, the conclusions leading to an organizational development process in 2014-15. Main changes include decentralization of authority to �eld level in the creation of �ve capacitated Regional Managements O�ces. �e new structure promotes an integrated approach to pro-gramme implementation, in line with the demands in our strategic plan.

�e Programme Operations Department is respon-sible for follow-up of the �eld activities and includes the cross-cutting sectors capacity building, civil society, human rights and gender. �e link between the Regio-nal Management O�ces, the Administration Depart-ment and the Finance Department has been strengthe-ned to ensure compliance to formal structures, procedu-res and regulations.

Both reporting to the Country Director in Afghanis-tan, the unit responsible for monitoring and evaluation has been separated from the planning and reporting unit. Also reporting to the Country Director in Afghanistan are units for advocacy, communication, internal audit and

security. �rough restructuring, capacity has been freed to bene�t the strategic management of SCA by the Secre-tary General. A function as Country Director in Sweden has been created. Areas in need of continued develop-ment are internal capacity development, advocacy, sup-port for civil society and development opportunities for female sta�.

MANAGEMENT �e Secretary General, Anna-Karin Johansson, was based in Stockholm, but worked periodically in Afghanistan. A�er being acting Country Director since November 2014, Jörgen Holmström was con�rmed as the new Coun-try Director of SCA in Afghanistan. A Deputy Country Director position has been introduced, although so far remaining vacant. With the establishment of the new organization, Jens Rosbäck, also Head of the Aid Coor-dination Unit, was appointed Country Director of SCA in Sweden.

STAFF On December 31, 2015, SCA had 5,185 employees in Afghanistan and Sweden. In Afghanistan, 3,923 were �eld sta�, 229 were employed at the Kabul Management O�ce and a 1,015 worked in project and regional management o�ces. In Sweden, 18 were employed at the Stockholm o�ce. Of the sta� in Afghanistan, 75% are men, whereas the gender imbalance is the opposite in Sweden.

BOARD �e SCA Board is comprised of 9 members and 2 substitute members. In 2015, the Board held 6 regular and 1 constitu-ent meeting. �e Board and attendance in 2015:

Resigned at the annual meeting 2015Elisabeth Björnsdotter Rahm 0 meetings out of 3Vanessa Narges Mekrami 2 meetings out of 3

RemainingInger Axell, 7 meetings out of 7Anders Fänge, 7 meetings out of 7Peder Jonsson, (chair) 7 meetings out of 7 Bengt Kristiansson, 5 meetings out of 7Hans Linde 5 meetings out of 7Siwita Nasser 3 meetings out of 7 Carin Runesson 5 meetings out of 7Shirin Persson 4 meetings out of 7 Freshta Dost (substitute) 5 meetings out of 7

Appointed 2015Kajsa Johansson (substitute) 3 meetings out of 4Dag Klackenberg 1 meeting out of 4

�e Board’s executive committee met once. Kerstin �ornberg and Eva-Stina Framvik were re-appointed internal auditors at the annual meeting, with Linnea Lars-son and Claes Renström as substitutes. �e Annual Mee-ting appointed Lena Hjelm-Wallén, Anders Davidson, Anna Fayeq, Hamed Abbasi and Ilse Wahlroos to serve as Election Committee.

�e meeting con�rmed the procurement of Fredrik Sjölander, KPMG, as authorized auditor. SCA in Afgha-nistan was audited by A.F. Ferguson & Co, Price Water-house Coopers in Islamabad. ■

53


TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY A rights-based approach requires high standards of transparency and accountability. Internal rules and regulations are not enough – a culture of pride in governance and in adhering to good practices is essential.

The trust of target groups, staff, authorities, members and donors is absolutely vital. Their time, commitment and feedback makes change possible. Trust and commitment can be built by responsiveness, timely information and transparent processes, in addition to accepting responsibility for the impact of our interventions on people’s lives.

Our aim is to openly declare how we use our resources and what results we achieve. To review or learn more about our work, we encourage you to access additional material on our website www.sak.se.

There you will find various reports but also our strategic plan for 2014-17. Minutes from Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting are shared and published www.sak.se after having been adjusted.

DIALOGUE ON PLANS AND RESULTS

PLEASE CONTACT US!If you have any comments regarding this annual report or any questions regarding our plans, results or documents, you are most welcome to contact us – please e-mail [email protected] or call +46 8 545 818 40

PHOTO | MALIN HOELSTAD

54


Incomestatement(tsek)

Note 2015 2014OperatingincomeMembershipfees 3,4 1112 1480Donations 3,4 26264 21728Contributions 3,4 13471 7692Grants 3,4 241766 228270Netsales 3 525 117Otheroperatingincome 3 1163 1178

Totaloperatingincome 284300 260466

OperatingcostsCostsfortheobjective 3,5,6 -251917 -239563Fundraisingcosts 3,5,6 -3427 -3868Administrationcosts 3,5,6 -24888 -17095

Totaloperatingcosts -280233 -260525

Resultfromoperations 4068 -60

ResultfromfinancialinvestmentsResultfromotherequitiesandreceivablesthatarefixedassets 0 0

Otherinterestincomeandsimilarprofit/lossitems 333 77Interestexpensesandsimilarprofit/lossitems 0 0Costofadministrationoffinancialinvestments 0 0

Totalresultfromfinancialinvestments 333 77

Resultafterfinancialresult 4401 17

Taxonprofitfortheyear 0 0

PROFIT/LOSSOFTHEYEAR 4401 17

Changeofearmarkedfunds

12 4401 17

Utilisationofearmarkedfundsfrompreviousyears 12 0 0Earmarkedfundsnotutilisedduringtheyear 12 -7329 1884Transferredtooperationalreserve 12 -1295Transferedfromoperationalreserve 12 2956

12 =28 =606

Profit/lossfortheyearaccordingtotheincomestatement(seeabove)

Remainingamountfortheyear/changeincapitalbroughtforward

55


Balancesheet(tsek)

Note 2015 2014ASSETSFixedassetsIntangiblefixedassetsCapitalizedexpenditureforsoftware 0 0

0 0TangiblefixedassetsLandandbuildings 0 0Equipment 7 1 1

Accruedexpensesonpropertynotownedbytheorganization

0 0

1 1FinancialfixedassetsLong-termsecurities 8 1151 1751Long-termreceivables 9 3403 2686

4554 4437

Fixedassets,total 4555 4438

CurrentassetsInventoriesetc.Goodsforsale 0 63Advancepaymentstosuppliers 0 0

0 63CurrentreceivablesAccountsreceivables–trade 107 129Otherreceivables 3313 6630Receivableongrantedbutnotreceivedgrants 13 1162 9604Prepaidexpensesandaccruedincome 10 2523 3489

7105 19853

Currentinvestments 0 0Cashandbankbalances 15 93362 80747

Currentassets,total 93362 80747

ASSETS,TOTAL 105022 105101

EQUITYANDLIABILITIES

EquityDonationcapital 12 391 391Operationalreserve 12 21777 21079Earmarkedfunds,SCAfundraising 12 43930 36536Earmarkedfunds,PostCodeandAtlasCopco 12 1381 1384Profit/Lossbroughtforwardincl.resultofthisyear 12 2009 1891

69488 61280

ProvisionsProvisionsforpensionsandsimilarcommitments 0 0Provisionsfortaxes 0 0Otherprovisions 11 5059 4510

5059 4510CurrentliabilitiesLiabilitiestocreditinstitutions 0 0Accountspayable–trade 2493 5859Taxliabilities 9 1091Liabilityonreceivedbutnotutilisedgrants 13 24559 28391Otherliabilities 1048 1956Accruedexpensesanddeferredincome 14 2367 2013

30476 39310

EQUITYANDLIABILITIES,TOTAL 105022 105101

Pledgedassests None NoneContingentliabilities None None

56


Cashflowstatement(tsek)

Note 2015 2014OperatingactivitiesOperatingprofit/loss 4401 175AdjustmentsforitemsnotincludedinthecashflowDeprecationandwrite-down 0Foreignexchangegain/lossincash 0Profitfromsalesofequipment 0Lossfromdisposalofequipment 0

4401 175

Interestreceived 265 329Interestpaid -329 -392Paidincometax 0 0Cashflowfromoperatingactivitiesbeforechangesinworkingcapital 4337 112

Changesinworkingcapital 3807 742Changesininventory 63 0Changesinprovisions 548 212Changesincurrentreceivables 12031 -3305Changesincurrentliabilities -8770 4538Cashflowfromoperatingactivities 7680 2186

InvestmentsAcquisitionsoftangiblesassets 600 -852Salesoftangibleassets 0 0Cashflowfrominvestingactivities 600 -852

FinancingactivitiesLoanstaken 0 0Repaymentofliablities 0 0Dividendsreceived 0 0Cashflowfromfinancingactivities 0 0

CASHFLOWOFTHEYEAR 12617 1446

Cashandcashequivalentsatthebeginningoftheyear 80745 79299Cashandcashequivalentsatyear-end 17 93361 80745

57


Note1AccountingandvaluationprinciplesTheaccountingandvaluationprinciplesoftheSwedishCommitteeforAfghanistanareinaccordancewiththeAnnualAccountingAct,BFNAR2012:1andwithFRII’sgoverningguidelines,butwithtwoexceptions.Thefirstexception–allinventorypurchasedwithcontributionsareregisteredimmediately.Thesecondexception–SCAregistersasincomemeansreceivedmeanttobeforwardedtoitspartners.IncomeIncomeisvaluedattherealvalueofwhathasbeenreceivedorwillbereceived.SCAclassifiesitsincomeinthefollowingcategories:membershipfees,gifts,contributions,netturnoverandotherincomes.Membershipfeereferstothefeepaidtobeamemberoftheorganisation.Membershipfeesarereportedatthetimeofpaymentfromthemember,andarereportedasincomeforthetimeperiodinquestion.AnassetthathasbeengiventoSCAwithoutanydemandsforsomethinginreturnisclassifiedasagift.StipulatingapurposeinaccordancewithSCA’sregularcategoriesforearmarkedfundsisnotseenasmakingademandforsomethinginreturn.Giftsintheformofcashandgiftsinkindofsignificantvaluearereportedasincome.Giftsintheformofservicesandgiftsinkindofinsignificantvaluearenotreportedasincome.Giftsarereportedasincomeatthetimeofbeingreceived.Anassetthathasbeengivenwithademandforsomethinginreturnisclassifiedasacontribution.Whentheconditionsforthecontributionhavebeenfulfilled,thecontributionisreportedasanincome.Beforetheconditionshavebeenfulfilled,thecontributionisreportedasadebt.Acontributionthathasbeenreceivedtocovercertaincostsisreportedforthesamefinancialyearasthecostthecontributionismeanttocover.Fundraisedaregiftsdirectlyraisedbytheorganisation,aswellasraisedmeansfromtheRadioAidcampaigns,theChildrenoftheWorld2014,WaterforAll,Postcodelottery,JochnickFundationandAfghanConnection.Incomefromsalesarereportedatthetimeofsaleandclassifiedasnetturnover.Incomethatdoesnotfallunderanyoftheabovecategoriesisclassifiedundertheheadingotherincome.CostsSCAusesFRII’scostclassifications:costsfortheobjective,fundraisingcostsandadministrativecosts.Costsfortheobjectiveareclassifiedasthosecoststhathaveadirectimpactonfulfillingtheorganisation’spurposeinaccordancewithitsstatutes.EverycostinAfghanistanisclassifiedasanoperationalcost,withtheexceptionofasmallshareforbasicadministration.CostsforSCA’sinformationeffortsarealsoclassifiedascostsfortheobjective,asthisworkisapartoftheorganisation’spurposeinaccordancewithitsstatutes.Fundraisingcostsarethosethatarenecessaryinordertogenerateincomefromfundraising.Includedhereareadvertisements,salaries,thank-youletters,mailingofgiftletters,aswellasthecostsassociatedwiththerecruitmentofmonthlydonorsandsoon.Administrativecostsarethosethatarenecessaryforadministratingtheorganisation.Theadministrationisaqualityguaranteeforthepurposeandforthegiver.Withintheclassificationof

58


administrativecosts,therearethecostsfortheSCAofficeinStockholm,forrentcostsandotheroperationalcostsforfacilitiesandcommunication,aswellassalarycostsfortheadministrativestaff.CostsfortheBoardandasmallpartofthecostsfortheadministrativestaffinAfghanistanarealsoincludedhere.Alloftheorganisation’sleasingagreementsarereportedasoperational meaningthattheleasingfeeisreportedlinearlyduringtheleasingperiod.ngoingremunerationstostaffmembersintheformofsalaries,benefitsandsoonarereportedas

theemployeesperformservices.Pensionobligationsareclassifiedasfee-basedandarereportedasacostfortheyearduringwhichthepensionisearned.alances eet

Financialassetsarevaluedatwhicheveristhelowestofeitherbookedormarketvalue.Receivablesarereportedattheamounttheyareexpectedtobepaidin.Customerreceivablesarevaluedindividually.Receivablesanddebtsinforeigncurrenciesarevaluedattheexchangerateoftheclosingday.Stockisvaluedatwhicheveristhelowestofeitherpurchasevalueorrealvalue.Inventorythatispartoftheassociationoperationsiswrittenoffbasedonassessedfinanciallongevity:Computersat yearsandotheritemsat years.Inventorypurchasedthroughfundsraisedarewrittenoffimmediately.Earmarkedfundsarereportedasanitemunderowncapital,andrelatetogiftsthathavenotyetbeenusedandotherearmarkedfunds.AnallocationisreportedinthosecaseswhereSCAhasalegalorinformalobligationthatisexpectedtoresultinafuturepayout.Allocationsarevaluedatthebestapproximationoftheamountthatneedstobepaid.Note Appro imationsandassessmentsTherearenoapproximatedvaluesofasignificantnatureassociatedwithSCA’sannualaccounts.Furthermore,SCAmakestheassessmentthattherearenosignificantfinancialrisksfortheassociationthatcanbeseenatthetimeofthedraftingoftheannualaccounts.

Note 2 Approximations and assessments

59

SCA | ANNUAL REPORT & FINAL ACCOUNTSDe

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111

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075

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115

6-4

5MembershipfeesfromSCA

Associationmembers

1112

1075

00

00

00

082

1156

-45

Dona

tions

262

642

327

160

77

564

289

529

082

40

342

71

189

357

329

SCAfundraising

16089

588

122

3658

461

00

03427

18257

7832

PostCodeLottery

10000

1739

1485

3906

2434

0824

00

010388

-388

AtlasCopco(Water4All)

175

290

290

-115

Cont

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ions

143

680

985

218

43

348

870

00

013

471

897

0RadioAid

5392

1738

184

3348

00

00

05270

122

0JocknickFoundation

1507

1416

00

870

00

01503

40

AfghanistanConnection

7469

6698

00

00

00

06698

771

0

Gra

nts

247

986

133

862

254

752

8042

789

250

5914

288

857

019

901

241

766

622

00

Sidacorefundsfor2015

175000

056211

25008

42789

17892

14288

857

019541

176584

-1584

0SidaInfo/UHRInterns

1400

1288

00

00

00

0360

1648

-248

0SidaTEMPproject

00

2706

00

00

00

02706

-2706

0ForumSyd

1505

00

00

00

00

00

1505

0EuropeanCommission

00

00

00

00

00

00

0MinstryofPublicHealth(BPHS

&EPHS)

45046

00

47774

00

00

00

47774

-2727

0WHO

603

00

527

00

00

00

527

760

TheEmbassyofFinland

4493

03338

00

00

00

03338

1155

0WFP

1234

00

1080

00

00

00

1080

154

0WorldBank(NSP)

17770

00

00

7167

00

00

7167

10603

0Others

934

500

892

00

00

00

942

-80

0Sa

les

525

00

00

00

00

340

340

185

Sales

525

00

00

00

00

340

340

185

Oth

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149

60

00

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564

456

4-3

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Interest,exchangegains/losses

1496

00

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4564

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61


Note4FundRaisedandContributions2015 2014

DonationsaccountedforintheIncomeStatementFundraising:Public 15867 13854Companies 222 364PostCodeLottery 10000 7350Water4All 175 160

TotalDonationsaccountedforintheincomestatement 26264 21728

Donationnotincludedintheincomestatement* - -

ContributionsaccountedforasincomeFundraising:RadioAid 5270 2717JochnickFoundation 1503 1369AfghanistanConnection 6698 3764Companies - -

TotalContributionfromPublic 13471 7850

Grantsfrompublicagencies,authoritiesandinstitutionsSida2015 180938 164660ForumSydannualgrant2014 - 12562ForumSydInformation2014 - 1050EuropeanCommission - 58MinistryofPublicHealth(BPHS&EPHS) 47774 39281WHO,UN 527 150TheEmbassyofFinland 3338 1392WFP 1080 641WorldBank(NSP) 7167 8168Others(smallgrantsfromdifferentdonors) 942 309

TotalGrantsfrompublicagencies,authoritiesandinstitutions 241766 228270

Totalcontributionsaccountedforasincome 255237 236120

TotalFundraisingconsistsofthefollowing:TotalDonationsaccountedforintheincomestatement 26264 21728Donationnotincludedintheincomestatement* - -TotalContributionfromPublic 13471 7850

TOTALFUNDRAISED 39735 29578

*SCAhasonlyreceiveddonationsinformoffreeseminarpremises.MarketvalueisunknowntoSCA.

62


Note5-Numberofemployees,staffcostsandfeestotheBoard

NumberofemployeesNo.of

employeesOfwhom

menNo.of

employeesOfwhom

menSweden 21 6 20 7Afghanistan,expatriatestaff 14 11 13 7Afghanistan,locallyemployed 1231 983 1273 1010Afghanistan,projectstaff 3923 2899 4044 2984Pakistan,locallyemployed 1 1 1 1

Total 5190 3900 5351 4009ThenumberofemployeesinAfghanistanandPakistanreflectsthenumberatyear-endeachyear.ThenumberofemployeesinSwedenisbasedontheaveragenumberofemployees.

Boardmembersandseniormanagement,pergender

No.atthebalance

Ofwhommen

No.atthebalance

Ofwhommen

Boardmembers 9 5 9 4SecretaryGeneral 1 0 1 0SeniorManagementexeptSG 3 3 3 3

Salariesandotherrenumrations2015 2014

TheBoardandSecretaryGeneral 782 765Otheremployees 162960 133705Sweden 8167 5509Afghanistan,expatriatestaff 9006 6867Afghanistan,locallyemployed 77107 62625Afghanistan,projectstaff 68598 58634Pakistan,locallyemployed 82 70

Total 163742 134470

Socialsecuritycontribution2015 2014

Totalsocialsecuritycontributions 4392 3434ofwhichpensioncost 1348 949Theboarddidnotreceiveanyremunerationsin2015,norin2014.Outofthetotalpensioncosts,185(183)TSEKrelatestotheSecretaryGeneral.

Voluntarywork

Agreementforseverancepay

Loantoseniormanagementandrelatedpartytransactions

MostofthedonatedvoluntaryworkiscarriedoutwithinthelocalchaptersandthoseareseparateentitiesandarenotreportedaspartoftheannualaccountsofSCA.However,voluntaryworkhasalsobeencontributedtoSCAaswell.SCAdoesnotapplytimereportingforvolunteers,asthatwouldcreatetoomuchadminsitrationbothforthevolunteersaswellastheorganisation.Theestimationisthat43individualscontributedatotalof300hours.

IfSGwheretoberelivedofherdutiesbasedonaninitiativeoftheemployer,SGisentitledtosalaryduringoneyear.IfSGduringthisperiodobtainsanothersourceofincome,thenthatamountshouldbedeductedfromthesalaryofSCA.

Theorganisationhasnotissuedanyloanstoseniormanagement,norhasanyrelatedpartytransactiontakenplace.

2015 2014

2015 2014

63


Note6LeasingfeesSCA'sleasingfeesareprimarilyofficerentandsomeofficeequipment.

2015 2014Leasingfeesthatarebookedascost 6462 5683

Futureleasingfeesaredue:2015 2014

Within1year(InAfghanistan) 4636 1669Within1year(InSweden) 1710 1596In1to5years(InAfghanistan) 2871 3550In1to5years(InSweden) 4968 6140Laterthan5years 0 0

14185 12956

Note7FixedAssets2015 2014

Openingacquisitionvalue 30544 25940ExchangerateeffectonOBinAfgh. 3499 763Thisyear'spurchases 3508 5436Disposals 50 -1535Sales 2059 -60Accumulatedacquisitionvalue 39659 30544

Openingcontributions 30543 25939ExchangerateeffectonOBinAfgh. 3499 763Thisyear'scontributions 3508 5435Salesanddisposals 2108 -1595Closingcontribution 39657 30543

Netvalue 1 1

ContractsforofficesandotherbuildingsinAfghanistanarenormallysignedwithacontractnoticeof3months.TheofficecontractinSwedenisendingin2019-09-30,andthereafterprolongedautomaticallyifnopartyleavesduenoticewiththreeyears.

64


Note8Long-terminvestmentsheldasassets2015 2014

Openingacquisitionvalue 1762 900Purchase 251 862Sales -862 0Accumulatedacquisitionvalue 1151 1762

Openingaccumulatedwrite-downs -11 -2Thisyear'swritedowns -9Reactivatedwrite-downs 11 0Closingwrite-downs 0 -11

Closingbookedvalue 1151 1751

BookedvalueMarketvalue

SwedbankRoburLiquidityfund 1119 1136SwedbankRoburHumanfund 32 33Total 1151 1168

Note9Long-termreceivables2015 2014

Openingnominalvalue 2686 2535Additionalreceivables 3107 2268Amortisation,deductiblereceivables -2710 -2113Exchangeratedifferance 320 81Closingnominalvalue 3403 2771

Openingaccumulatedwrite-downs 0 0Write-downfortheyear 0 -85Reversalofwrite-downs 0 0Closingaccumulatedwrite-downs 0 -85

Closingbookedvalue 3403 2686

Note10Prepaidexpensesandaccruedincome2015 2014

Prepaidrent 1656 2484Accruedinterest 0 0Otheritems 866 1006

2523 3489

Note11Provisions

11aStaffinsuranceAfghanistan 2015 2014Openingbookedvalue 1019 788Provisionsoftheyear 531 461Utilisedamounts -397 255Exchangeratedifference 4 25Closingbookedvalue 1157 1019

11bRADRevolvingLoanFund 2015 2014Openingbookedvalue 3491 3469Provisionsoftheyear 95 0Utilisedamounts 100 -89Exchangeratedifference 416 111Closingbookedvalue 3902 3491

65


Note12Equity

2015-12-31 DonationcapitalOperational

reserv

Earmarkedfunds,ownfundraising

Earmarkedfunds,PostcodeandWaterforall

Balancebroughtforwardand

balanceoftheyear

TotalEquity

Openingbalance 391 21079 36536 1384 1891 61281Resultoftheyear 4401 4401Changesinequity

ExchangerateeffectonopeningbalancesiAfghanistan2714 501 500 91

3806

Earmarkedbythedonor* 16089 10175 -26264 –bytheBoard 940 -940 –BytheAnnualMeeting – –Usedfunds* -8257 -10678 18935 –

TansferredfromOperationalReserve-2956

2956 –

Effectoftax – –Total – 698 7393 -3 -4282 3806

Closningbalance 391 21777 43930 1381 2009 69488

*Thetotalofthefundsearmarkedbythedonorandthefundsusediscorrespondingtotheamountofearmarkedfundsintheresultstatement:7329TSEK

2015 2014 2015 2014

SidaAnnualfunds 5158 12166

Sidaagreementisforthreeyears.ThereisflexibilityinusingSidafundsonanannualbasis.Thefundswillbeusedinthecommingyears.

ForumSyd - 990 633 153

ForumSydprojectshavebeencompleted.SCAobligationtotheprojectswastocontributeatleast10%oftheprojectbudgetfromitsownfundraising.Inbooksofaccounts,SCAconsideredthewholeprojectasForumSyd-fundedprojectanddidnotaccounttheSCAcontributionseperately.ThesurplusisduetoSCAcontributingtotheprojectsasatotalandthereforethesebalanceswillbewrittenofftowardsSCAfundraising.

EuropeanCommission 132 130Projectendedandtheun-usedbalancewillbewrittenoffin2016.Thissurplusisaresultoftheexchangerate.

AfghanistanConnection 671 756TheprojectcontinuesandthefundsweretransferredtoSCAinJanuary2016

JocknickFoundation 111 45

Projectendedon31December2015.SCAover-spentthisamount,whichwillbecoveredfromitsownfunds.Adjustmentwillbemadeoncethedonorapprovesthefinalreport.

PostCodeFoundation - 538 ProjectcontinuesRadioAid 303 33 ProjectcontinuesFinlandEmbassy - 588 497 ProjectcontinuesWorldBank(NSP) - 6752 3046 ProjectcontinuesSEHATMoPHProjects - 13595 14976 ProjectcontinuesHealthNet 182 163 ProjectcontinuesWHO 140 ProjectcontinuesWFP 238 350 Projectcontinues

Others 71 5 944 316

SCAhadsomesmallprojects;someofwhichhavebeencompletedandsomewillcontinuein2016.Theleftoverbalanceofthecompletedprojectswillbewrittenoffoncethefinalreportsarefinalized.

Total 1162 9604 24559 28358

Note13Donorbalances

Receivable LiabilityDonor Projectstatus

66


THE ANNUAL ACCOUNTS of SCA is according to Swedish practice signed only once. For the signature of the Board as well as the external auditor, please see the edition of SCA Annual Account printed in Swedish.

Note 14 Accrude expenses and defered income

2015 2014Accrued interest 0 0Vaccation debt 1323 1209Accrued employer fee 208 247Other items 836 557

2 367 2 013Note 15 Liquid assets

2015 2014Cash 523 326Bank balances 92840 80421

0 093 362 80 747

Short-term investments, equal to liquid assets

The annual accounts of SCA is according to Swedish practice signed only once. For the signature of the board as well as the external auditor, please see the edition of SCA annual account printed in Swedish.

67


THIS IS THE SIGNED AUDITOR'S REPORT in Swedish to the Annual General Meeting of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan.

68


THIS IS THE SIGNED ASSOCIATION AUDITOR'S REPORT in Swedish to the Annual General Meeting of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan.

SWEDISH COMMITTEE FOR AFGHANISTAN Jalalabad Main Road, Paktia KotPO Box 5017Kabul, [email protected]

SVENSKA AFGHANISTANKOMMITTÉNMalmgårdsvägen 63, 3 trSE-116 38 StockholmSweden+ 46 8-545 818 [email protected]

PRINTED IN KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

2015 AND FINAL ACCOUNTS€¦ · 5 SCA | ANNUAL REPORT & FINAL ACCOUNTS THE SWEDISH COMMITTEE FOR...

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