The Afghanistan Health and Nutrition Baseline Survey (AHNS) was conducted as part of the Central Asia Health Systems Strengthening Project (CAHSS), a multi-year initiative being implemented in selected areas in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic with funding from the Aga Khan Foundation Canada. CAHSS was developed to respond to the critical, persistent, and emerging health needs of the population, and in particular women, newborns and children under five. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has adopted an approach to ensure essential service availability in a system that will become less reliant on external actors, such as donors. This five-year initiative was developed in the context of AKDN’s long-term presence, indigenous recognition and extensive familiarity in the region. This project seeks to coordinate, align, expand and enrich the current activities of the various AKDN agencies in the region, in close collaboration with the local, provincial and national governments. The project is fully aligned with the health sector policies and strategies of all four countries.