Establishing Stability in Southern Afghanistan through Cash-for-Work Activities

IRD community stabilization programming helps meet the unique social and economic needs in volatile areas by implementing the Afghanistan Stabilization Initiative Cash for Work (ASI CFW) program, a subcontract to Chemonics International under the Afghanistan Stabilization Initiative South (ASI South) project. ASI CFW facilitates efforts to reestablish security, strengthen governance, build or rehabilitate infrastructure, and promote reconciliation and reintegration.

THE AFGHANISTAN STABILIZATION INITIATIVE – SOUTH
A serious threat to stability in Southern Afghanistan is stagnant economic development. The lack of job opportunities increases people’s susceptibility to insurgent and other anti-governmental influence, not to mention work in the opium poppy industry. The USAID-funded Afghanistan Stabilization Initiative – South (ASI South) took a first step in returning violence-prone areas of Southern Afghanistan to stability by creating conditions that could rebuild confidence in the Afghan government. The initiative aimed to improve the economic and social environments as well as increase public access to information about the government’s social, economic, and political activities and policies.

IRD’S ROLE
The ASI CFW project addressed some of the drivers of instability in the region. The activity, which supported small infrastructure projects, infused much needed income to families while paving the way for larger scale projects throughout Kandahar province. Activities focused in Kandahar City, and the Arghandab, Zhari, and Khakrez districts. By working closely with our government partners, IRD helped create large-scale, short-term job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled Afghans. The cash-for-work activity employed nearly 1,000 people with 52,000 days of work, contributing to improved stability throughout the region. ASI CFW activities supported ASI South program objectives to:

  • Provide short-term employment for local Afghans in southern Afghanistan to assist the local economies in several districts in Kandahar Province.
  • Contribute to the improvement of stability by strengthening local infrastructure, which will in turn allow future larger scale projects and increased job opportunities.
  • Contribute to the improved perception of local government in the districts within the region, as all activities were conducted through grants to local jurisdictions.
  • Contribute to the overall US foreign policy objectives of a more stable southern Afghanistan.

IRD’s ASI CFW program activities were implemented through a subcontract to Chemonics International, under the ASI South project, a USAID-funded prime contract.