14^th April 2019, Kabul. The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and its Deputy Ministry of Municipalities thanked UN-Habitat for its technical support in the implementation of Citizen’s Charter, a flagship programme of the government aiming at reducing poverty and enhancing social inclusion through community driven development.

During the handover ceremony of the Citizens Charter Afghanistan Programme, Deputy Minister of Municipalities, Mr. Abdul Baqi Popal, thanked UN-Habitat for “being a strategic partner of DMM in providing technical support to address the challenges of the rapid urbanization process in Afghanistan through capacity building of our institutions in the framework of the Citizens Charter Afghanistan”.

Since 2016, UN-Habitat has closely advised the government in the implementation of Citizens Charter (CCAP), a World Bank funded programme. Improving service delivery through community driven development is one of the key areas prioritized by the government to be addressed through this programme. With an unprecedented rapid urban growth, the government has prioritized urbanization as a strategic approach to address the main challenges of its urban areas, especially poverty, lack of basic services and trust between citizens and the government.

The technical assistance to Citizens Charter included strategic support in the design of the programme, the development of training materials and their implementation, partnering with local communities. The Habitat support contributed to the establishment of a functional Project Implementation Unit (PIU) and Provincial Management Units (PMUs) able to support the procurement of Facilitating Partners (FPs) with clear terms of references and deliverables. The drafting of several manuals and guidelines helped the Deputy Ministry of Municipalities establish required routines and improved capacity. Manuals covered different areas such as procurement, contract management, operations, finance, gender, monitoring and evaluation, communications and visibility.

Finally. Deputy Minister Popal thanked Mr. Najib Amiri, UN-Habitat Programme Manager for CCAP, and his team for the extraordinary support to the government efforts in steering urbanization in an orderly manner. For more than two decades, UN-Habitat has been the main government technical partner in building the institutional capacity of local governments and improving its relationship with the urban communities. Putting Afghan people at the center of the decision-making processes at community levels ensures a rapid answer to the needs of the population through inclusive participatory consultations, leaving no one behind, especially women and youth.

For more information, please contact UN-Habitat’s Head of Communications in Afghanistan,

Mr. Koussay Boulaich, Koussay.boulaich@un.org