Integrated Rural Development is a programme concept that covers the majority of our activities. It means that we assist rural communities in making sustainable improvements in living conditions in all aspects of daily life. Here’s what we do and why we do it.
Complex problems need complex solutions. A poor village needs help with many aspects of life and all of these are interrelated. Providing clean drinking water to a village does not only improve people’s health. It also increases children’s performance and attendance at school. Education for mothers improves the health of their children. And an irrigation system can do more than just provide water for agriculture; it can also reduce the risk of landslides and floods. That’s why NAC has an integrated work programme, because success in one sector can strengthen successes in other fields as well.
In the rural areas of Afghanistan, the needs are in general greater than in the cities. Fewer people have clean drinking water and enough food to last the winter. All of NAC’s work is based on the needs of the people on the ground, and not on donor agendas. That is why the Norwegian Afghanistan Committee works only in rural areas. Badakshan and Ghazni are among the poorest provinces in Afghanistan, and that is where NAC dedicates a large share of its resources. NAC’s goal since the 1980s has been to put opportunities within the reach of rural Afghans, and to help them improve living conditions where they are.
Real development means genuine advances in living conditions, and not just temporary benefits. Too many aid projects fail when outsiders take charge of running services, rather than enabling the local population to do it themselves and become self-sufficient. In NAC programmes, sustainability is a key word. By building local capacities, knowledge and infrastructure NAC helps communities reach a permanent improvement in living standards that endures long after a project or programme has ended. As an example, NAC trains local women to spread knowledge on health and sanitation to households in their communities. When building an irrigation system or other infrastructure, NAC employs local men and uses mainly local materials. This means that knowledge is built, and remains within the local community, even after the end of a development programme.