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UK Provincial Reconstruction Team Lashkar Gah

 

The Helmand PRT supports the Afghan Government to promote Counter Narcotics, security, good governance, rule of law and social and economic development in order to promote a more developed, secure and stable Afghanistan

 

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) are at the heart of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission and embody a joint military and civilian approach to stabilising Afghanistan.

They are a combination of international military and civilian personnel based in provincial areas of the country extending the authority of the Afghan Government, supporting reform of the security sector, and facilitating development and reconstruction. Each is tailored to the prevailing security situation, socio-economic conditions, terrain, and reach of the central government.

The UK assumed control of the PRT in Lashkar Gah (LKG), Helmand province in May 2006. Despite difficult working conditions in the toughest of environments Foreign & Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development are working hard alongside UK and other National Armed Forces in Helmand Province to provide a seamless package of reconstruction assistance. The UK is delivering reconstruction, recovery and development activity to a part of Afghanistan that the Afghan Government and the international community is committed to helping succeed.

The PRT (LKG), with support from Danish and Estonian officials, is focusing on establishing an effective police force, a functioning legal system and sound provincial administration in the province. The PRT is also facilitating development assistance in Helmand and helping to create a sustainable legitimate economy capable of providing livelihoods for the local population. FCO and DFID officials are working with a wide range of people in the province from the Governor of Helmand, Asadullah Wafa, to local non-governmental organisations to deliver the UK Joint Plan for Helmand. Governance, police reform, counter-narcotics and justice sector experts are in place in the PRT to work with provincial officials and help strengthen and reform local governance structures.


Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan

  • At 62,337 sq km Helmand is Afghanistan’s largest province, divided into 13 districts.
  • Estimates put the province’s population between 700,000 to 1.4 million (although the most recent census was undertaken in 1979)
  • The province’s capital is Lashkar Gah – where the UK Provincial Reconstruction Team is based. The district’s population is estimated at 98,251 (UNHCR, 2002)
  • In the 1970s Helmand was one of the most agriculturally productive areas in Afghanistan. But after years of conflict and drought, much of this productivity has been lost, or redirected towards poppy cultivation and drug trafficking.

Development is necessarily a long-term activity but the PRT, working within the improved security environment provided by the Helmand Task Force and in partnership with Afghan Security Forces is already implementing reconstruction work that brings the benefits of peace to the people of Helmand. The efforts most evident on the ground at this early stage are the Quick Impacts Projects or QIPs, designed to provide swift and well-executed reconstruction assistance to the local population.

Helping Helmand Province: UK PRT Reconstruction Projects
Security
  • Support to the Afghan National Police (ANP): UK police mentors in place to train and support Helmand's Afghan National Police; the PRT is also providing the ANP with new uniforms and a photo ID system
  • Construction of ANP Permanent Vehicle Check Points in Gereshk and Lashkar Gah
  • Construction of a new Helmand Provincial Security Co-ordination Centre in Lashkar Gah.

Governance

  • Infrastructure improvements to provincial justice bodies, including the Prosecutor's Office and the Lashkar Gah Courthouse
  • Providing training to local media in Helmand to improve the quality and depth of their reporting of local issues and events
  • Upgrading the state-run and local commercial radio stations and installing a BBC World Service transmitter in the state-run station, ensuring the Afghan Government is able to enter the homes of people across the province.

Social & Economic Development

  • Expansion and improvement to the provincial markets in Lashkar Gah and Chai-i-Anjeer
  • Flood Defences in Lashkar Gah: £300,000 of UK PRT funding has funded the construction of irrigation and flood protection systems on the Helmand river
  • Construction of new classrooms for Lashkar Gah's boys and girls schools
  • The UK's Helmand Agricultural and Rural Development Programme is constructing more than 200 wells in and around Lashkar Gah city and over 50km of road in the provincial centre..

Counter-Narcotics

  • The PRT, working closely with the Afghan Government's Ministries of Agriculture and Counter-Narcotics, has recently provided £30,000 of agriculture equipment to local farmers (tractors and ploughs)
  • Urgent repairs to the Department of Counter-Narcotics office in Lashkar Gah
  • The rehabilitation of the provincial civilian airport allowing ongoing access for Afghan Government officials.






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