IOM and the Afghan Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and
Disabled (MoLSAMD) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding
to work together towards creating sustainable livelihoods for 2,000
recent Afghan returnees from neighbouring countries. Some 640,000
Afghans have either voluntarily returned or been deported from Iran
and Pakistan this year.

"Having been away from Afghanistan for decades, many of the
returnees do not have enough contacts or resources to resume their
livelihoods and are in urgent need of assistance," says IOM
Officer-in-Charge Jose Ivan Davalos. 

With funding from the Government of Japan, MoLSAMD and IOM will
identify beneficiaries in Herat, Farah, Nimroz, Kunduz, Bamyan and
Kabul provinces and provide them with much needed livelihood
support.

The activities will be implemented as part of the Afghan
government’s National Skills Development Programme (NSDP),
which facilitates and promotes training for worthwhile,
market-driven employment across the country. 

To ensure that training is likely to lead to sustainable
employment, contracted training providers will carry out labour
market assessments for waged employment opportunities, and market
potential assessments for self-employment opportunities.

Each three- to six-month training course will be developed based
on these assessment results and, on completion, each beneficiary
will receive a job start-up package, as well as guidance and
monitoring support.

For further information, please contact:

Monica Sandri

IOM Kabul

Tel: + 93 (0) 796 568729

E-mail: "mailto:msandri@iom.int">msandri@iom.int

or

Katsui Kaya

Tel +93 (0) 700 185961

E-mail: "mailto:kkaya@iom.int" target="_blank" title=
"">kkaya@iom.int