The National Solidarity Program (NSP), a community-led reconstruction and rural infrastructure initiative, has made significant achievements in empowering communities, improving community relations, and increasing public faith in the system of government.
Despite a challenging environment the program is making significant progress in building community institutions in rural Afghanistan. Some 18,303 communities have successfully elected Community Development Councils (CDCs). Over 31,396 community projects had been partially or fully financed, of which more than 15,111 projects had been completed.
The NSP is currently active in 352 districts of the 364 districts in Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. It’s the only government program to have reached all the country’s 34 provinces, touching the lives of 18 million villagers. It has achieved this despite working in extremely difficult terrain under uncertain security conditions, often in remote communities.
The major strengths of the program design are the transfer of funds directly to communities, enabling a strong sense of ownership of the program, and democratic elections through secret ballots, which ensure that poor and marginalized peoples are included in decision-making processes, commented a group of Facilitating Partners.
National Public Consultation Conference
Kabul, Afghanistan November 10 - 15, 2007
Some hundreds of delegates, representing thousands of rural communities from all over Afghanistan, gathered in Kabul for a "National Public Consultation Conference." The conference is part of the National Solidarity Program (NSP).
Village delegates discussed ways to maintain the progress they have already made, and how to expand it to other areas of the country. The conference also provided a forum for policy discussions between experts and decision-makers. Read More...
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