Welcome to the NGO Department Website

The Ministry of Economy’s Department of NGOs is pleased to present this website, which is designed to provide up-to-date and useful information to interested users.  The website contains information on registered non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the NGO Department itself, as well as the underlying legal framework for NGOs.  It highlights the important role of NGOs in the process of reconstruction and socio-economic development of the country.  Users will find links to a variety of educational materials on the registration process, the reporting requirements, as well as more general commentaries.  This website is the result of the support and input from the board of directors in the Ministry of Economy, the staff of the NGO Department, and local and international NGOs, as well as financial support provided by the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) through the Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society (I-PACS).  

NGOs do not have a long history in Afghanistan, at least as compared to western societies.  Afghans became familiar with the concept of NGOs and their activities through their experience in refugee camps in Pakistan and Iran in the 1980s, while benefiting from services provided by these organizations.  For the first time, based on the Islamic Government of Afghanistan’s Cabinet decision on 16/6/1373 (1996), the Ministry of Economy, then known as the Ministry of Plan, was tasked to coordinate the NGOs’ activities and conduct the registration process.  The first regulation was published in the gazette issue no. 781 on 30/5/1374.  More recently, following the acceptance of a new Constitution for Afghanistan (2004), the Law on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) was officially enacted through the President’s signature on Saratan 1384 (June 2005) and was published in the official gazette. 

Based on the Law on NGOs and reporting forms no. 1 & 2, NGOs are responsible to submit biannual reports.  They are also obliged to register their assets and expenditures and to provide annual financial audit reports of their implemented projects to the Ministry of Economy and other relevant government agencies.  For more information on reporting requirements, please see the Reporting Guidelines, available through this website.

As of the end of May 2009, a total of 1,610 local and international NGOs (1,297 local and 313 international ones) were registered at the NGO Department.  These NGOs are doing a fabulous job.  In 2008, local and international NGOs, independent of the National Solidarity Program, successfully implemented 2,753 different projects at an estimated cost of 611.2 million USD in the fields of public health, education, agriculture, irrigation, rural development, women’s self-sufficiency, empowering the disabled and handicapped, infant care, demining, elections, and other areas of development.  They also spent an approximate amount of 208.8 million USD to procure different project supplies such as vehicles and medical equipments, agricultural products, clothes, drugs, stationery, and demining instruments. They imported these items on tax-exempt basis and used them for development projects and other humanitarian services.

The NGO Department works under the leadership of the Ministry of Economy and has 23 staff-persons working in four major divisions focused on (1) registration, (2) monitoring and evaluation, (3) analytical assessment of project reports and NGO expenditures, and (4) visa application process and customs support for NGOs, and providing information and reports of the NGOs’ activities to local and international authorities.  The NGO Department is grateful for the assistance of coordination organizations such as ACBAR, ANCB, and AWN, as well as to ICNL and other local and international NGOs.