Officials during the workshop.
Doha, Qatar: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) and the Gates Foundation have co-organised the Afghanistan Humanitarian Partners Workshop, with over 55 in-person and virtual participants from government institutions, UN agencies, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, international NGOs, and donors.
The objectives of the workshop were (1) to share key updates from the polio programme and the broader humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, (2) to discuss the revisions made to the monthly reporting form and agree on the way forward, and (3) to discuss the planned expansion of outreach activities in polio priority areas for 2026.
Over the past two days, the participants discussed several key topics, including: Afghanistan Humanitarian Situation Update; Presentation of Polio-focused/Humanitarian Indicators Year-to-Date results; Defaulter Tracing Reporting for All Vaccines; Community Mobilisation; Zero Dose Children vs. Birth Dose; SOP for Pregnant and Lactating Women; Reversal Strategies Used in the Community for OPV/RI refusals; Community Engagement Activities; and Publication of Humanitarian Engagement Results.
Apart from QRCS and the Gates Foundation, the list of participating organisations included the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Afghan Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), the Norwegian Red Cross, HEALTHNET TPO, Action Against Hunger (France), INTERSOS (Italy), and EMERGENCY (Italy), as well as several private-sector partners and NGOs.
In his remarks, Mohamed Bader Al-Sada, Assistant Secretary-General for Relief and International Development at QRCS, said, “For QRCS, Afghanistan is not a new engagement. It is a long-standing commitment. For more than a decade now, QRCS has been working alongside national and international partners to support health services, strengthen community resilience, and ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need, especially women, children, and the most vulnerable populations”.
“Health, in our view, is not only a humanitarian priority, it is a foundation for dignity, stability, and development,” he added. “That is why QRCS continues to invest in health interventions that bridge emergency response and longer-term recovery, aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 3: Good Health and Well-Being, and other SDGs related to poverty reduction, nutrition, education, and partnerships”.
This is one of a series of workshops held by QRCS and the Gates Foundation, bringing together humanitarian partners to discuss ways to improve the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and other disaster-stricken countries.
