1,400 workers lose jobs in wake of Swedish Committee in Afghanistan’s closure

The Swedish Committee has announced that after the suspension of its activities in Afghanistan, 1,400 employees have lost their jobs in the country.

The organization discussed the issue with the media on Monday and said while their operation stopped in March in Afghanistan, staff contracts only ended on July 31.

Concerned about the projects the organization had been working on at the time of their closure, Cajsa Wikström, press secretary of the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan said: “We hope that other organizations will take over the implementation of our projects so that the needs of our target groups are well met.”

The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan worked for the people in Afghanistan for 40 years and closed in March this year due to increasing pressure from the Islamic Emirate and concerns about the safety of its employees.

The organization had previously said that if its activities in Afghanistan are stopped, nearly 7,000 of its employees in the health, education and civil sectors in 16 provinces will lose their jobs. Since then, its health activities with staff have been taken over by other organisations and schools and teachers have been taken over by provincial education authorities.