At the beginning of 2008, CARE Afghanistan completed its Long Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) for the next five years. The new five year plan will bring some changes to the Country Office as we know it.

There will be an increased focus on establishing partnerships with local organizations. Partnerships with local actors are part of an approach to ensure more sustainable solutions. Building the skills of Afghan organizations will strengthen the national civil society and remain independently from the presence of big international organizations.

Another change will be the shift from a project to programme approach. To ensure greater impact, CARE is moving towards a more holistic approach way to do programming. Instead of having sector divided programmes, as we currently do, the organization will move towards a more integrated approach where parts of our current programmes will linked together to form a joint program targeting a specific target group.

The target groups that will be the focus of CAREs work between 2009 and 2013 will be :

1. The most socially and economically marginalized women
2. Returnees and IDPs
3. The most vulnerable and marginalized population of rural areas
4. The most vulnerable and marginalized population in communities prone to disasters and environmental change
5. Disaster affected people in secure and insecure areas