Through programs like the National Solidarity Program (NSP), Australia is providing direct support to Afghanistan's development priorities. Implemented by the Ministry for Rural Rehabilitation and Development, the NSP empowers the grassroots of Afghan society by facilitating the establishment of local governance bodies – Community Development Councils – to carry on development projects in villages across the country.
Through the NSP, Community Development Councils are given grants to help build and restore rural infrastructure in their communities. Begun in 2003, the NSP now covers 361 districts in all of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, has financed more than 50,000 reconstruction and development projects, and touched the lives of 14 million Afghans. The program has provided a unique opportunity for Afghan women to participate in the development process, as well as learning literacy and new skills.
Australia contributes to the NSP through the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). Administered by the World Bank, our key multilateral partner in Afghanistan, the ARTF is an efficient mechanism that facilitates a partnership between the international community and the Afghan Government for the improved effectiveness of reconstruction and development efforts across Afghanistan. Since our first contribution in 2003, Australia has contributed $204 million to the ARTF, funding National Priority Programs including the National Solidarity Program, and contributing to the delivery of health, education, rural infrastructure, jobs and microfinance to communities across the country, including in Uruzgan province.