Part 5
By Ayyub
Social Responsibility: Supporting Vulnerable Groups and Helping Them Return to Normal Life
One of the basic responsibilities of any system is caring about people’s lives and supporting those who, because of economic, social, and family hardships, need more help and support than others. In recent years the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) too has set aside an important part of its programs for supporting orphans, widows, and people with disabilities, treating addicts, and improving the situation of returnees. This approach has social roots, but it’s also rooted in Islamic values, since supporting the needy, helping vulnerable families, and reaching out to people facing hardship are counted among the religion’s important values.
On supporting orphans, widows, and people with disabilities, the Ministry of Martyrs and Disabled Affairs (MMD) has rolled out programs for cash assistance and food aid. This ministry’s reports show that monthly cash assistance to these groups continues, and support programs have been carried out across different provinces too. Even though these payments can’t cover a family’s every need, they can make a real difference in meeting some of life’s basic needs for families without a fixed income or salary.
Treating addiction is also an important part of the IEA’s social approach. Drug addiction had been a serious problem in Afghan society for years, and its effects weren’t limited to the addicted person alone. They also touched that person’s family and social surroundings. The Ministry of Public Health has announced that over the past year, several thousand patients suffering from addiction received treatment and medical services at central and provincial health centers. This ministry has also kept addiction treatment centers running and continued its public awareness and prevention programs around drugs.
Another side of this social responsibility is monitoring and reaching out to returnees and displaced people. The return of large numbers of Afghans from neighboring countries requires an organized program that covers welcoming them, meeting their basic needs, arranging housing, and helping them return and reintegrate into society. The Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation (MoRR) has reported on distributing cash and food aid to returning and displaced families, providing shelter, health services, helping them obtain civil documents, and creating the ground for job opportunities. The MoRR has also signed cooperation agreements with a number of national and international institutions during the 1405 fiscal year to support these families.
Alongside emergency aid, attention to orphaned children and families in need also carries special importance, because social support only becomes lasting when it doesn’t stay limited to just distributing aid, but comes paired with education, rehabilitation, learning professional skills, and job opportunities too. That’s why expanding centers for the protection and education of unaccompanied children, broadening support programs, and creating economic opportunities for families in need could be the next stage of this same process.
Despite all these activities, certain opposition media outlets and destructive individuals try to suggest there’s no organized support program at all for people in need in Afghanistan, or that the government is indifferent to social problems and takes no responsibility at all. But the official reports of the relevant ministries show that aid to orphans, widows, and people with disabilities continues, addiction treatment centers are operating, and cash, food, and health assistance and shelter are being provided to returnees and displaced people as well.
Another claim is that financial constraints and the drop in foreign aid have turned the government away from reaching vulnerable groups. The truth is that Afghanistan still faces economic hardship and broad social needs, but at the same time, the continuation of official support programs and cooperation with a number of domestic and international institutions shows that social services haven’t come to a stop. Even MoRR, in its own reports, has mentioned direct cooperation with international institutions aimed at supporting returnees.
That’s why this period’s social activities should be judged based on actual work, official reports, and people’s access to services. In this respect, the continued support for orphans and widows, addiction treatment, outreach to returnees, and laying the ground for their return to normal life all show that social responsibility is an important part of the IEA’s achievements and programs. And the continuation of these services, expanding their coverage, and turning temporary aid into ongoing employment, education, and rehabilitation programs could make this process even stronger and more effective going forward.
The IEA’s system, through coordination among the relevant ministries and directorates, and without ethnic or tribal discrimination, has put its full effort into serving needy and vulnerable groups, so that by reaching out to their problems, it can help resolve those problems and improve their living conditions.
