Background and objectives

The magnitude of the urban growth in Afghanistan has been unprecedented. Kabul, for example, jumped from 1.8 million in 1999 to more than four million by 2006. The project will study the issue in depth and recommend a way forward and also provides assistance to the returnee/IDP households residing in the Sheikh Mesri Township, Nangarhar. It aims to address their reintegration by removing the social, political, financial, and physical obstacles which impede their ability to build sustainable livelihoods. Interventions are targeted at household, neighbourhood, district, municipal and national levels, reaching more than 30 neighbourhoods where 450 vulnerable households will be provided with adequate shelter and trained in skills for income-generation activities.

Activities:
The main activities include:

• Formulating relevant, pro-poor, urban policies and laws.
• Preparing methodology and guidelines to prepare neighbourhood development plans.
• Providing technical support and capacity building to Kabul Municipality to prepare detailed layout plans of priority areas.
• Priority basic infrastructure/services delivered at district/neighbourhood-levels in Kabul and Jalalabad.
• Motivating selected central agency staff and Kabul and Jalalabad municipality staff and capable of discharging selected functions.
• Organizing 30 neighbourhoods with community development councils and preparing 30 CAPs.
• Registering households with properties leading to improve tenure security.
• Empowering 450 vulnerable households with adequate shelters.
• Empowering selected individuals (50% women) in productive skills and engaged in income generation activities.

Results:
The results achieved so far include:

• Established a steering committee for effective and community oriented government policy and strategy under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Urban Development.
• Three meetings conducted by the steering committee to discuss a strategy and policy recommendations for strengthening planning capacity in the municipality.
• Established an area development committee, and design, estimation and subproject proposals have been approved and physical work to be started.
• Established 10 CDCs in Kabul and 5 CDCs in Jalalabad.
• Prepared 10 community development plans and five more to be prepared.
• Conducted surveys and estimations with communities for preparing sub project proposals.
• Prepared community development plans by female CDCs.
• Five per cent of total CDC block grant allocated for productive skill projects, and subproject proposals are in process.
• Established the shelter management mechanism in Kabul, and about 100 beneficiaries have been identified.