Press Release
5 June 2006
Fighting poverty is key for future of Helmand
Fighting poverty in Helmand must go hand in hand with efforts to tackle the
drugs trade and create peace and security, International Development Secretary
Hilary Benn said during a visit to the south Afghan province today.
On his visit, Hilary Benn pledged £30 million ($55m) over three years for a
new programme to help improve the economic prospects of poor people in the
province. The money will be provided to the
Government
of Afghanistan, and will help to expand national reconstruction and
development programmes in Helmand.
Local community councils in each village will identify what is most needed,
but the funding will provide:
- Road or bridge building schemes for isolated communities;
- Improving access to clean water and sanitation;
- Small loans for poor Afghans who cannot access credit – helping them
to invest in their future; and
- Assistance for farmers.
Up to 600,000 people are expected to benefit from the scheme, which aims to
create up to 15,000 new agricultural jobs per year, and provide up to 1,000
wells by the end of this year – providing better water for 175,000 people.
Hilary Benn said:
“For people in Helmand to rebuild their lives after decades of conflict they
need peace and security. The work of the UK military in supporting the Afghan
army and police is vital to creating a secure environment. But people also need
the opportunity to earn a living and provide for their families, without
resorting to the drugs trade.
“That’s why we are supporting the Government of Afghanistan to provide the
clean water, build the roads and provide the small loans needed to help Afghans
help themselves – by farming legal crops or starting small businesses.
“The challenge remains great in a country where one in four children dies
before their fifth birthday, and more than half of the population lives on less
than a dollar a day. But the UK is committed to supporting Afghanistan for the
long-term.”
Hilary Benn met with the Governor and Provincial Council of Helmand province,
and visited a project implemented by the Government’s National Solidarity
Programme, to which DFID contributes funding. He also met with representatives
from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the military at the UK Provincial
Reconstruction team in Lashkar Gah.
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Notes to Editors
1. In the 1970s, Helmand province was one of the most agriculturally
productive areas in Afghanistan. But after decades of conflict, neglect and
drought, much of this productivity has been lost, or redirected towards poppy
cultivation and drug trafficking. More opium poppy is cultivated in Helmand than
in any other province of Afghanistan. It is a hub for processing, trading and
trafficking of opium.
2. The Department for International Development (DFID) is working with the
Afghan national government to tackle poverty nationwide, which will bring
benefits to Helmand. Helping find alternatives to growing and harvesting opium
poppy is a central pillar of the Afghan Government’s counter-narcotics strategy,
which the UK is strongly backing.
DFID spent £45m ($83m) on improving opportunities for Afghan livelihoods last
year (2005/06) – almost a tenfold increase on two years ago – and expects to
spend a similar amount this year. The majority of this spending is put into the
Afghan Government’s National Priority Programmes for development. The new
Helmand rural development programme announced today will finance these
programmes specifically in Helmand.
3. DFID is also working closely with the UK military, the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office and the Government of Afghanistan in Helmand, to tackle some
of the particular obstacles to development in the province – principally, the
opium trade and the insecurity which it brings.
The UK Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) is the focus of the UK’s
development activities in Helmand. Based in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand
province, the PRT contains representatives from the Foreign Office, the
Department for International Development, and the Military.
The UK military’s role in the PRT is to create a stable environment in which
development can take place. The Military is also providing training to the
Afghan National Army in the province.
The Foreign Office is supporting reform to the provincial police force and
criminal justice sector, and in improving the capacity of the provincial
government. The Foreign Office is also leading an UK interdepartmental team
including representatives from DFID, the Home Office, SOCA (the Serious
Organised Crime Agency) and the MoD, on working with provincial and national
government to tackle the drugs trade in Helmand.
The Department for International Development is working to tackle poverty in
Helmand and Afghanistan. This involves working with provincial government to
deliver the benefits of national Afghan Government programmes for improving
economic opportunities for the poor. Total DFID spending in Helmand is expected
to be around £20m ($37m) a year. About half of this will go through the new
programme.
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