From Crisis to Collective Action: The STFA Experience reflects on how the Special Trust Fund for Afghanistan (STFA) emerged after the August 2021 crisis to address basic human needs amid uncertainty.

The paper shows how STFA brought UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes (UNAFPs) together to deliver joint, area-based programming that supplemented urgent humanitarian needs and peace efforts. It highlights how governance shifts within the One UN framework and collective financing helped provide essential services, protect community resilience, and reach people in a difficult and resource-constrained setting. The lessons aim to improve future phases of STFA and offer insights for similar trust funds working to support people living in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.