Overview

Despite the stated challenges in the operating environment, the Policy & Knowledge Unit produced essential knowledge products such as annual reviews, socio-economic outlooks, and other thematic assessments, which continue to set the trends and influence the overall policy narrative and programming efforts in the country. The Unit will ensure the regular continuity of knowledge production and thematic assessments in the coming years. Additionally, the PKU scope of work covers more than just knowledge products, such as reviewing programmatic documents, concept notes, thematic reports, and presentations to ensure analytical robustness, data accuracy, and programmatic alignment, which the Unit has executed very effectively.

The SDG Integration Portfolio was devised to implement four projects, namely, 

1. SDG Integration in Policy & Programming. 
2. Enhancing Integrated Financing for A-SDGs. 
3. Enhancing Data Availability and Accessibility for A-SDGs and National Plans. 
4. Learning and Innovation. 

Each project embeds three to four outputs, making up the current operating environment, the CO’s transition programme framework, and corresponding thematic focus areas, such as bottom-up economic recovery, area-based development, assistance for the basic human needs and MSMEs resilience, and finally the recently endorsed UN Strategic Framework for Afghanistan (July 2023 – Dec 2025).

Objectives

The project aims to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, such as ending poverty and hunger by producing knowledge products. These knowledge products play a crucial role in raising awareness and informing strategic decisions by stakeholders underlying their programmatic, resource allocation, and policy interventions supporting the people in Afghanistan. Further, through these knowledge products, UNDP maintains and reinforces its impactful policy space in the country’s overall crisis response, humanitarian assistance, and potential development policy debate.