DFID in Helmand

DFID in Helmand

Stabilisation | Long-term development | Microfinance | Counter-narcotics work

Helmand is the largest of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. Mainly desert, it is the world's largest opium-producing region and a key battleground in tackling the insurgency in the country. Progress in Helmand, and therefore in Afghanistan, relies heavily on winning the fight for the hearts and minds of the local population.

In January 2006, US troops were replaced by a Nato international security assistance force led by British forces. This put the UK at the forefront of international efforts to bring peace and security to Helmand. Working in close cooperation with the military, without whom we would not be able to operate, DFID is undertaking much-needed reconstruction and development work to provide the infrastructure, opportunities and security needed by the Afghans for a safe and productive life.

We have agreed to commit £46 million towards this goal between 2006 and 2009 – with £23.6 million allocated for 2008–09 – which will be divided between stabilisation work and longer-term development. DFID is supporting the provision of basic services, improvements in health and sanitation as well as working closely with local government and civil organisations to deliver development projects directly to those most in need.

Stabilisation

Locally elected community development councils (CDCs) allow ordinary Afghans to decide their own development priorities and bid for project funds accordingly. Almost 500 CDCs have been elected across Helmand, with DFID providing £2.9 million in support of the programme (2007-10). As well as providing immediate results, the CDC projects generate local employment: the digging of drainage ditches, the gravelling of roads and the laying of irrigation channels. In addition, six CDCs in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah have been responsible for bringing cleaner water and better sanitation to as many as 1,500 families.

The provision of clean water, irrigation and hard-surfaced roads is key to rural development in Helmand and forms the basis of DFID’s stabilisation programme. These activities are complemented by the provision of emergency humanitarian aid and increasing the ability of local government to deliver basic services to the Afghan people.

Long-term development

Through its longer-term development activities, DFID aims to expand legal agriculture and increase business opportunities in the relatively secure urban areas. Through the provision of finance, training and support, Helmandi farmers are being offered an alternative to poppy cultivation, which will eventually reduce the hold that the opium trade has on society.

Effecting long-term change is best achieved by helping the Afghans to help themselves. To do too much with our own hands would achieve only short-term progress. By working closely with local government institutions, coaching and mentoring officials, DFID is laying the foundation for substantive, lasting development.

Microfinance

A cornerstone of DFID’s work in Helmand is the support it gives to projects that provide small business loans to individuals or collectives. These microfinance projects offer them the opportunity to start or expand a business, providing an income for thousands of people and, in the case of Afghanistan’s women, independence.

We have agreed to commit £40 million to Afghanistan’s Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) between 2004 and 2010. To date, MISFA has provided £350 million in loans to over 450,000 entrepreneurs to help them set up or expand small businesses. These provide a lifeline for the most vulnerable members of society: 60% of loans issued to March 2009 went to women and over 3,700 widows and almost 100 disabled clients have benefited from the programme.

Recipients are free to put the money towards any viable, legal business proposal. Agriculture is a popular enterprise but projects have been as diverse as pharmacies, paddy crops, animal husbandry and weaving, with many successful ones going on to provide employment for other members of the community. Here's an example of microfinance in action.

Counter-narcotics work

The UK is supporting the Afghan Government's drive to improve farmers' livelihoods, bring drug traffickers to justice, break the links between the drugs trade and the insurgency and reduce the demand for drugs. For instance, in Helmand since late 2008, DFID has given aid worth £7 million to farmers in the form of wheat seed, fertilizer and expert advice distributed within the 'Food Zone', to persuade them to turn away from opium poppy cultivation. In 2009, this Food Zone saw a drop of 37% in poppy cultivation, and Afghanistan as a whole saw a 10% decrease in opium production from 2008 to 2009. In seeking a sustained fall in opium production, an added benefit of successful programmes is the help that the increased cultivation of cereals gives in easing the food crisis in the country.