Catriona Laing » UK Senior Representative, Southern Afghanistan

RESIDENTS of a key district in Afghanistan have participated in huge numbers as registration for the District Community Council (DCC) elections began yesterday. More than 2000 people from Nad-e Ali in Helmand province attended a district Shura (meeting) led by Provincial Governor Naeem Baluch and supported by community leaders. The District Governor, Mohammad Ibrahm, opened the meeting with a speech recognising the contribution and good work of elected DCC members … Read more »Huge support for Helmand community elections

The Prime Minister of Denmark, Helle Thorning-Schmidt has visited Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team in Lashkar Gah for an update on progress. The visit was the premier’s second since she took office in 2011. The Prime Minister expressed her gratitude and pride of the Danish military and civilian staff in Helmand. She stressed that Denmark will be engaged in Afghanistan after 2014 but with more focus on civilian and development efforts. … Read more »Prime Minister of Denmark visits Helmand PRT

A guest blog by Belinda Lewis, Director Rule of Law and Operations at the PRT, about her day spent helping out in the Lashkar Gah cookhouse. The other week I spent my day off wielding knives and piping icing sugar roses in the Lashkar Gah cookhouse. I love cooking so it was a real treat to see and work inside a field kitchen. It was also an absolute pleasure to … Read more »Mucking in at the Lashkar Gah cookhouse: helping the army to march on its stomach

To listen to some commentators, you might easily gain the impression that no progress has been or can made in Helmand, and as soon as Britain and its Nato allies hand over full responsibility to Afghan institutions, it will collapse back into the violent fundamentalism of the 1990s. In fact, we are increasingly confident that the gains that have been made will prove durable, that life for ordinary Afghans will … Read more »A different story from Helmand – the BBC investigates progress in civilian institution-building

For four days in early December over 6200 elders and notables from across Nawa District in Helmand made their way to register for the upcoming District Community Council (DCC) election. These DCC’s only occur in Helmand. It is the only province across Afghanistan where its citizens have the option to vote for a district representative body through a large open election process and hold these elected officials to account. The … Read more »Election fever grips Nawa

As part of my guest blogger series I have invited the PRT’s Deputy Director of Operations, Andrew Collingwood to blog about his time in Helmand. 

As part of my guest blogger series I have invited the departing Joint Head of the PRT Politics Team , Nick Baker to blog about the change in Governor to Helmand and his time in Lashkar Gah. Last month Governor Mangal was replaced.  This is the most significant political event in Helmand for the last four and a half years, since Mangal took office.  So it’s a fascinating time to be … Read more »Helmand: Reflections from PRT Joint Head of Politics – Nick Baker

Today I will be attending the Helmand Development Conference in Kabul. Helmand’s Governor, Gulab Mangal, and his team will paint a picture of the progress in Helmand and set out the opportunities for donors, NGOs and the private sector. There is no question that Helmand still has a branding challenge. The progress that has been made over the last four years is not widely known, and images of violence and … Read more »Helmand Development Conference – Why would anyone invest in Helmand?

I have invited members of  the PRT to use my blog to talk about their work and experiences in Helmand. Shelley Groves the PRT’s new Female Police Advisor has kindly written about her first police training course. On arriving in Lashkar Gah to take on my role as the PRT’s new Female Police Advisor, my first task was to help deliver a sustainment training package to the female Afghan Uniform Police … Read more »Police training in Gereshk