Archive for 'Afghanistan'
I recently travelled to Herat, a beautiful city in the west of the country, with my economist colleague Kevin. Kevin has kindly agreed to write a guest blog about our trip: As someone returning to Afghanistan, I have found progress in the space of three years – the last time I worked here – extremely [...]
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I recently travelled to Bamyan and Uruzgan to see whether Strengthening Provincial Administration and Delivery (SPAD) – a UK/Denmark funded programme - can make a difference there. Bamyan is a province in the centre-west of the country and famous for the monumental Buddha statues that the Taliban [...]
Local governance in Afghanistan is full of acronyms – PDP, DCC, DDA, PGO to name just a few – and SPAD is the latest addition. Admittedly, UK civil servants when they hear "SPAD" will not think of a programme that helps local government work more effectively, but of special advisers to ministers. However, the name [...]
I have now left Afghanistan after nearly 21 months there. Just over a year ago, I spent four days in Bamyan province considering a new agriculture programme supported by UK and New Zealand aid. One year later I accompanied our Ambassador on his first visit to the province, and saw how the programme was progressing. Bamyan is one [...]
Tourism was not the first thing I expected to do while living in Kabul, but I recently discovered that there are some impressive sights to visit, including the treasures at the National Museum of Afghanistan. The museum was built in 1922 during the reign of King Amanullah Khan and in its heyday housed one of the [...]
I'm a keen cricket fan, so recently I travelled to Colombo, Sri Lanka to cheer on Afghanistan in the World 2020 Cup competition. I was able to wear my own Afghan cricket shirt as a few months ago the Afghan Cricket Board contacted the British Embassy, and wanted to know if people would like to buy [...]
I have just returned to Kabul following a visit home to London to see my family during the Olympics. It is obviously quite a contrast between the shiny capital of "Team GB" and dusty Kabul which is still rebuilding itself following thirty years of conflict. There are similarities, however, for example in the ambition and [...]
We review our programmes annually to monitor progress. Security concerns in Afghanistan make these reviews more challenging than in other countries but, with careful planning much can be achieved and learned. I recently joined the team reviewing a new project which focuses on strengthening civil society, 'Tawanmandi', on a trip to the provincial capital of Balkh province, [...]
I recently travelled to Helmand province in the south of Afghanistan to see for myself the activities DFID and others carry out there. I was most interested in seeing improvements in governance and basic service delivery. It was an exciting trip which involved a plane and a thrilling ride in a Chinook. The helicopter was filled [...]
I've spent a month in Kabul already, which has passed in a flash! In this time, I have got to grips with my job, which is to help strengthen government systems - especially how the government in Kabul works with local structures at the provincial, municipal and district level. DFID Afghanistan supports several projects in this area, including [...]
