Danish
About DACAAR
The Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) is a longstanding, non-governmental, non-partisan humanitarian and development organization that has been serving the people of Afghanistan since 1984. Originally established to support Afghan refugees in Pakistan, DACAAR transitioned into Afghanistan in the early 1990s and has since become a trusted and impartial actor with deep roots in Afghan communities across the country.
Over the past four decades, DACAAR has built a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, community-based interventions in some of the country’s most remote and underserved areas, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or political affiliation.
DACAAR’s work focuses on improving the livelihoods, resilience, and dignity of Afghans through an integrated, multi-sectoral approach. Its core programming areas include Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Natural Resource Management (NRM), Small-Scale Enterprise Development (SSED), and Women’s Economic Opportunities (WEO).
DACAAR is widely recognized as a national leader in the WASH sector, known for its technical expertise, community engagement models, and commitment to inclusive, sustainable service delivery. In addition, the organization integrates Natural Resource Management (NRM) with a focus on environmental sustainability and climate resilience principles into relevant programming, particularly in water-scarce and disaster-prone regions.
Our Vision:
Empowered Afghan communities achieve sustainable well-being, dignity, and resilience.
Our Mission:
To deliver integrated, inclusive, and community-driven humanitarian and development assistance, grounded in dignity, equality, and resilience
Core Values:
Integrity: We act transparently and honestly.
Inclusiveness: We value diversity, gender equality, and participation
Respect: We honor Afghan traditions, dignity, and cultural diversity.
Collaboration: We work in partnerships across sectors and stakeholders.
Learning and Adaptation: We commit to innovation, evidence-based programming, and continuous learning.
Our Community Based Approch:
We work directly with Afghan communities through Community Development Councils, Village Shuras, District Development Assemblies and other relevant community structures. Together we mobilize, organize and support communities to take ownership and drive interventions, identify needs and set priorities. Helping Afghans gain long-term capacity and resilience is the key tenets of our community-based approach. Over the past decades, we have forged strong and trusted relationships with Afghan communities that forms the basis for our unprecedented access to communities across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan.
Basic Facts
| Organisation Name | DACAAR (Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Established | 1984 | ||
| Agency Type | International NGO | ||
| Country of Affiliation | Denmark | ||
| DACAAR Governing Board | Astrid Coyne Jensen, International Media Support (IMS) Mads Bugge Madsen,The Danish Trade Union Development Agency (DTDA) Aase Elin Petersen, The Danish Afghanistan Committee (DAC) Niels Vestergaard Knudsen, Danish People’s Aid (DPA) Claus Hélix-Nielsen, Danish Technical University (DTU) |
||
| Employees | Around 1,000 national staff and 7 international staff | ||
| Director | Peder Thorning, Main Office in Kabul | ||
| Secretary General | Klaus Løkkegaard, Office in Copenhagen | ||
| Registered with | Ministry of Economy of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Reg # 24 National Danish Register of Companies (CVR), Reg # 29902488 | ||
| Main Office | Kabul, Afghanistan | ||
| Regional Offices |
Kabul (CRO) Herat (WRO) Kandahar (SRO) Jalalabad (ERO) Kunduz (NERO) Maimana (NWRO) |
||
| Secretariat in Europe | Copenhagen, Denmark | ||