In conflict and post conflict situations, many of the most basic needs of everyday life are disrupted. Access to food, water, clothing, and shelter are no longer givens. Livelihoods are often shattered. Local and national political, economic and social systems can be destroyed or damaged. The only crystal clear fact is that people need help. While it is often the role of militaries to restore order and bring an end to violence, troops alone cannot be expected to help communities stabilize and rebuild.

Civil society organizations such as International Relief & Development (IRD) have the expertise and commitment to help vulnerable people, no matter where they happen to live. IRD has the flexibility of approach and ability to produce results under ever-changing and often unfamiliar conditions. Central to this flexibility is the capacity to design and implement activities at the appropriate scale to meet the need. When conflict ends or abates, entire infrastructure systems sometimes need to be built or rebuilt. Economic opportunities, employment, and access to markets need to be restored. Social services such as health and education often require assistance to become functional again. IRD effectively employs technical and management expertise and experience to address the full spectrum of social and economic needs present in unstable conditions.

Stabilization can only be judged a success when local communities, officials and private groups take on the management of development efforts, so a critical element of IRD’s approach is local community involvement in planning and decision-making. From the bottom up, IRD aims to give citizens a voice with which to participate and to generate the space for their inclusion and democratic engagement in decision-making. IRD has taken on the most complex large-scale challenges, designing and implementing humanitarian assistance, stabilization and longer-term developmental activities in active conflict and post-conflict environments.

For example, IRD is implementing the Afghanistan Vouchers for Increased Productive Agriculture (AVIPA) Plus project, a $360 million U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) project aimed at increasing rural family farm production and strengthening links between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its people in 20 provinces, including Helmand and Kandahar. AVIPA Plus implementation is closely linked with Afghan government leadership and local community ownership. The small grants program works closely with community and government officials to identify and process awards for in-kind materials and equipment. The in-kind grants give farmers and rural communities the resources to increase farm production and productivity. Government officials help AVIPA Plus identify cash for work projects, such as repairing irrigation systems, in local communities. Cash for work projects employ men who might otherwise produce illegal crops or participate in insurgency.

IRD is providing a new way for rural Yemenis—over 70 percent of the population—to participate and communicate their concerns with their government. The Grassroots Theater Initiative (GTI) is designed to bring theater to villages as a means of community mobilization in a country where storytelling is a central part of the culture and contribute to increased stability in rural areas of Yemen. Through theater, poetry, and dance, IRD is encouraging communities to discuss pressing issues such as tribal conflict, water rights, and food availability. “Town hall” meetings with tribal, civil, and religious leaders held after the performances reinforce the themes from the performance and provide another opportunity for community members to have their voices heard.

The Community Stabilization Program (CSP) in Iraq was a $648 million U.S. Government initiative awarded to IRD by USAID in 2006 to help stabilize Iraq and promote bottom-up economic activity. The program created a civilian surge in job-creation and community revitalization to accompany the military surge. At its height, IRD’s CSP program conducted operations in 18 critical cities across Iraq. IRD implemented thousands of projects to help stabilize and economically revitalize Iraq, often following immediately after military operations. Even through periods of deteriorating security, CSP continued activities to rehabilitate community infrastructure, provide vocational training and job placement assistance, award grants to new and existing businesses and sponsor youth programs aimed at mitigating conflict.

Current Projects
- Afghanistan – Afghanistan Vouchers for Increased Productive Agriculture (AVIPA) Plus
- Yemen – Grassroots Theater Initiative (GTI)

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