[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-109269-en":3,"doc-seo-109269-105":31,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":93},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":29,"read_time":30},109269,1649267921044,"Ava Thompson","https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/1800007509477c92dfb?_k=1782875107921204101",8,"Research & Report","Sector Note - Urban Municipal Service Delivery in Afghanistan - Citizens’ Perceptions Following the Political Transition in 2021","Urban municipal service delivery in Afghanistan is examined through citizens’ perceptions following the political transition in 2021. Rapid urbanization, uneven and largely informal city growth, and constrained resources shape service access and quality. The note analyzes impacts of the Interim Taliban Administration takeover on municipal institutions, staffing, financial management, and revenue. Using mixed-method primary and secondary data from seven cities during July–August 2023, it highlights how service delivery changes affect citizens, with particular attention to women and evolving urban needs.","Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized  \nSECTOR NOTE  \nURBAN MUNICIPAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN AFGHANISTAN  \nCITIZENS’ PERCEPTIONS FOLLOWING THE POLITICAL TRANSITION IN 2021  \nJUNE 2024  \nCover photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND  \nSECTOR NOTE  \nURBAN MUNICIPAL SERVICE DELIVERY IN AFGHANISTAN  \nCITIZENS’ PERCEPTIONS FOLLOWING THE POLITICAL TRANSITION IN 2021  \nJUNE 2024  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS  \n3 Acknowledgements  \n\n| 4 Introduction |\n| --- |\n| 6 I. Urban Governance and Institutions |\n| 8 II. Citizen’s Perceptions of Urban Service Delivery |\n| 10 III. Municipal Finances |\n| 12 IV. Way Forward for Afghan Cities |\n\nTABLE OF FIGURES  \n7 Figure 1: Effectiveness of Community Organizations Working with Municipalities, by City  \n\n| 8 Figure 2: Perceptions of specific services’improvement and deterioration |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| 9 | Figure 3: Critical service needs across the seven cities |  |\n| 10 | Figure 4: Change in Revenue from IROA toby City | ITA |\n| 11 | Figure 5: Comparison of budget execution ITA and IROA periods | between |\n\nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  \nThis sector note was prepared by Tahir Akbar (Task Team Leader, Senior Urban Specialist), Kabeer Dawani (Consultant), Maximilian Fischbach (Urban Specialist), Stephen Karam (Consultant) and Amena Raja (Senior Urban Specialist) . The note is based on a detailed study carried out by UNOPS and a team of consultants from Assess, Transform, Reach (ATR) consultancy, who carried out the Citizen’s Perception Survey, Focus Group Discussions, and Key Informant Interviews during the period July-August 2023. The main objective of the assignment was to assess the status of urban service delivery in Afghanistan following the transition in political leadership from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IROA) to the Interim Taliban Administration (ITA) . The team would like to express its thanks to the many Afghan citizens, officials, and staff for providing their views and relevant data that enabled this work. The team is grateful to Jon Kher Kaw, Philipp Petermann, and Nandya Yuwono for their valuable comments.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nUrbanization in Afghanistan has been rapid over the last two decades and presents several challenges.  \nThe share of urban population is estimated to be 25 percent and was growing annually at 4 percent over the last five years (2018-2022).1 City growth has been uneven and largely informal, with unequal and insufficient delivery of affordable and quality basic services.2 This pattern of urban development poses challenges for the country in terms of providing adequate services, livelihood opportunities, and resilience to climate risks for its growing urban population.  \nAfghan cities underwent a severe shock in the wake of the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IROA) and the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. Since the takeover by the Interim Taliban Administration (ITA), a number of key elements of municipal functions have been impacted. Almost immediately, the political crisis caused a significant decline in business activity; international sanctions imposed on the new regime severely impacted business and public institution financial transactions, andover time employment and the economy continue to suffer. The impact of the economic crisis that followed the political transition is still being felt by the people of Afghanistan especially women. The country’s current rate of urbanization, if sustained, will continue to put pressure on the country’s municipalities to sustain, and even expand services with fewer resources.  \nThe immediate impact of the Taliban takeover has been felt on several levels by municipalities. Many skilled and experienced municipal employees abandoned or were relieved of their positions (particularly women), resulting in a critical loss of human resources to deliver urban services as their replacements did not have the same capacity. Technical functions at municipa","cbCaioEB33EhZPjB","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaioEB33EhZPjB","pdf",1618625,5,1,16,"English","en",105,"# Acknowledgements\n# Introduction\n## Urban Governance and Institutions\n## Citizen’s Perceptions of Urban Service Delivery\n## Municipal Finances\n## Way Forward for Afghan Cities","[{\"question\":\"What was the main objective of the sector note?\",\"answer\":\"To foster understanding of urban service delivery in Afghanistan after the 2021 political transition and assess changes in that evolving context, especially their impact on women.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the primary data collected for this note?\",\"answer\":\"Using a mixed-method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected across seven Afghan cities during July–August 2023, including a citizen perception survey and focus group discussions and key informant interviews.\"},{\"question\":\"Which aspects of municipal functions were reported as impacted after the transition?\",\"answer\":\"Municipal functions were affected through declines in business activity, reduced employment and economic conditions, loss of skilled staff (particularly women), disruption of technical and financial management systems, and reduced municipal revenues amid weakened local tax revenues and donor funding cessation.\"}]","Sector Note - Urban Municipal Service Delivery in Afghanistan - Citizens’ Perceptions Following the Political Transition in 2021 | PDF",1784478283,40,{"code":4,"msg":32,"data":33},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":34,"title":13,"keywords":35,"description":14,"schema_data":36,"social_meta":88,"head_meta":90,"extra_data":92,"updated_unix":29},"sector-note-urban-municipal-service-delivery-in-afghanistan-citizens-perceptions-following-the-political-transition-in-2021","",{"@graph":37,"@context":87},[38,55,70],{"@type":39,"itemListElement":40},"BreadcrumbList",[41,45,49,52],{"item":42,"name":43,"@type":44,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":46,"name":47,"@type":44,"position":48},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":50,"name":12,"@type":44,"position":51},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":53,"name":13,"@type":44,"position":54},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/sector-note-urban-municipal-service-delivery-in-afghanistan-citizens-perceptions-following-the-political-transition-in-2021/109269/",4,{"url":53,"name":13,"@type":56,"author":57,"headline":13,"publisher":59,"fileFormat":62,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":63,"datePublished":64,"encodingFormat":62,"isAccessibleForFree":65,"interactionStatistic":66},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":58},"Person",{"url":42,"name":60,"@type":61},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-03","2026-07-19",true,{"@type":67,"interactionType":68,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":69},"ViewAction",{"@type":71,"mainEntity":72},"FAQPage",[73,79,83],{"name":74,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":76},"What was the main objective of the sector note?","Question",{"text":77,"@type":78},"To foster understanding of urban service delivery in Afghanistan after the 2021 political transition and assess changes in that evolving context, especially their impact on women.","Answer",{"name":80,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":81},"How was the primary data collected for this note?",{"text":82,"@type":78},"Using a mixed-method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were collected across seven Afghan cities during July–August 2023, including a citizen perception survey and focus group discussions and key informant interviews.",{"name":84,"@type":75,"acceptedAnswer":85},"Which aspects of municipal functions were reported as impacted after the transition?",{"text":86,"@type":78},"Municipal functions were affected through declines in business activity, reduced employment and economic conditions, loss of skilled staff (particularly women), disruption of technical and financial management systems, and reduced municipal revenues amid weakened local tax revenues and donor funding cessation.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":53,"og:type":89,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":60,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":91,"canonical":53},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":94},[95,99,103,107,111,116,120,123,128,131,135],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":48,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":54,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":104,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":106},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":113,"show_sort_weight":114,"slug":115},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":30,"slug":119},7,"Healthcare","healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":121,"slug":122},30,"research-report",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":127},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":126,"slug":130},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":132,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":133,"show_sort_weight":132,"slug":134},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":136,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":47,"category_name":137,"show_sort_weight":20,"slug":138},19,"General","general"]