So Chicago has come and gone and the outcome has ensured the international community’s commitment post 2014. The funding pledges for Afghan security forces have been made; the international community has signalled it is with Afghanistan for the long-term but reminded their public of why we are here; “ to stop it becoming a haven for terrorist training” as David Cameron said. President Karzai is working to ensure “that Afghanistan is no longer a burden on the shoulder of our friends in the international community”.  So a compact is emerging and everyone seems to have come away content.

These high level discussions can feel rather distant in Helmand Province. The local media here has covered Chicago but this has been squeezed alongside coverage of day to day items of poetry festivals, canal clearing projects, local political scandals and sadly the latest deaths from the conflict.
The recent incidents of “green on blue”, where rogue Afghan security forces turn their guns on ISAF military, has been a theme in the run up to Chicago both here and in capitals.  But these incidents are reported very differently in the international media from the local media.

On 12 May there was a green on blue incident in Lashkar Gah District. Lance Corporal Lee Davies from the 1st tBatalion Welsh Guards and Corporal Brent McCarthy from the RAF Police were shot and killed by two rogue Afghan policemen.  Investigations are still underway as to what triggered the incident.  For the international media this was a hook to draw conclusions around erosion of trust between British soldiers and the Afghans they are training.  Local journalists reported on how swiftly and professionally other Afghan police from the same police unit reacted to the incident, including shooting one of the rogue policemen and embarking on aggressive patrolling of the area in an attempt to locate the second.

The following day British conducted a joint security meeting with the same Afghan police company, with local nationals in the area, to show that the relationship was not broken. And as an example of solidarity, one of the most senior policeman in the Province, Col Ismail, attended the vigil held here at the base.  The result and shared shock of this tragic incident has only served to strengthen the relationship between the British military and the Afghans they are training.  This is an important piece of ground truth which the international media should be willing to report.

While I was away, the District Community Council elections took place in Nahr-e-Saraj.  Read the guest blog from our ‘man on the ground’, Jim Haggerty.

At first glance it might appear to be business as usual for the residents of Malgir following the District Community Council elections in Nahr-e-Saraj District.

Seven incumbent Councillors re-elected to represent their communities along with a new Councillor elected to represent communities in the Charcutsa area of Malgir, filling the vacancy left two years earlier with the murder of his predecessor.

So what has changed since the elections took place in Gereshk two weeks ago?

Definitely no signs of Councillors resting on their laurels sitting in Gereshk secure in their appointments for the next three years. A re-energised group of DCC Members undertook a relentless trail of activity across this rural area which little more than a year ago was one of the most dangerous places in the District, mostly off-limits and posing real risk to life for those brave enough to travel into their constituencies.

During the last ten days alone Councillors visited community shuras in their home villages, supported Afghan National Security Forces to provide local security through meetings with Afghan National Police Commanders, local National Directorate of Security officials, the Afghan National Army as well as British Forces and importantly visited and guided the nascent Afghan Local Police in the more distant rural kalays.

If that was not enough this tight band of Councillors also planned small community projects for delivery across Malgir, accompanied the District Governor on two visits into the area to help him better understand how improving security is changing the lives of ordinary rural people.

If that was not enough the DCC Members then assembled at short notice to meet Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Kabul in CF NES(S) Headquarters before accompanying him to the Precinct Police Headquarters to review Afghan Local Police in training followed by lunch with HMA and the District Governor.
 

What next?

Internal elections for DCC appointments sometime in the next two weeks will determine who will Chair the DCC and hold influential appointments. Even within the relatively cohesive group of Malgir DCC Members there is a degree of internal jockeying for the prestigious Chairman’s appointment but hopefully business as usual and a continued opportunity to support the growth of local governance that sees the Malgir DCC Members themselves extend good practice and community engagements into other parts of Nahr-e-Saraj District.

Whilst I am back in the UK attending the FCO leadership Conference I have invited members of the PRT and their Afghan counterparts to use my blog to talk about their work.

The first of these focuses on Health in Helmand and has been written by Sim Nemvalts from the PRT health team and Dr.Rahmatullah Mohammadi, Deputy Director from the Helmand Department of Public Health.  

Siim Nemvalts – Co-Head, Health Team, Helmand PRT

The PRT Health Team supports and advises the Helmand Provincial Department of Public Health (DoPH). The DoPH has opened health clinics all over the Province to provide better access to free healthcare to the population.  According to DoPH figures, 80% of the Helmand population now have access to health services. The public healthcare system in Helmand is largely functioning well. There are 58 health facilities in the Province, of which 55 are functioning and providing health services.

For me, a measure of this success is that health workers are now able to provide services in some of the more remote areas of Helmand. An example of this is the recent opening of the Washir clinic in North West Helmand where local officials returned to Lashkar Gah along the highway, using ANSF support.
There are still some equipment and staff shortages, but the situation appears to be improving. The greatest challenge for the DoPH in Helmand is lack of staff, particularly females.  Helmand needs more female Doctors, Nurses and Midwives, especially in remote areas. Another challenge is capacity building, including health service planning, project management and supervision, budgeting and promoting links to national and district level.

But, in spite of this I believe that the provision of healthcare in Helmand is clearly improving.  Access is at an acceptable level and the focus for development will be more towards improving the quality of healthcare delivery. It’s important to continue the progress already achieved, building on this success by supporting Local National Health Education. In 2012 the PRT Health Team will continue the transition and transfer of responsibility to DoPH.

Dr Rahmatullah Mohammadi – Deputy Director, Helmand Department of Public Health

Over the last 18 months there has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of health care that we have been able to provide for our people.

The improved security means that we have been able to reopen a number of health facilities across the Province. We have increased the availability of staff in secure areas and improved the supervision of all health our facilities.

However, challenges still remain. There are still shortages of both female health workers and equipment across Helmand, we struggle to find suitable accommodation for our staff, and as we can only pay a relatively low salary we struggle to attract staff.

But we are working to change this. One example of this is that we currently have two classes of midwives going through training. Once they have graduated they will significantly increase the access to female healthcare across Helmand.

In my opinion, the key to all of this is security. If the security situation continues to improve then we will be able to treat more patients across Helmand as a result.

Transition in Helmand is not limited to Afghans taking the lead.  Change is a constant factor for international civilians and military too. 

Over the last month we have all been acutely aware of this transition known as the Relief in Place (RiP), where some of the outgoing and incoming soldiers are in theatre at the same time and different faces appear and queues for the cookhouse get longer.  And today I witnessed my second Transfer of Authority (TOA) since taking up my Post in Helmand.  I saw Brigadier Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Commander of Herrick 15, hand over to Brigadier Doug Chalmers of Herrick 16. This follows the TOA at Camp Leatherneck in March between US Marines Corps, myself and Michael O’Neill, the previous Head of Mission. 

But continuity is not lost.  Brigadier Doug (first names are used) has been preparing for his role commanding 12 Brigade for 18 months. His tour will last 6 months so the training is a huge investment – but one which pays dividends.

Civilians play an important role in this continuity.  The Stabilisation Unit, made up of the FCO, DFID & MOD civilians, now works with the army in supporting the military in their preparation.  Alongside experienced PRT staff, I participated in the training exercises in the UK as well as joined the US marine equivalent exercise at Camp Pendleton in San Diego. The preparation is very sophisticated. The HQ is reproduced exactly as it will look in country – even down to where your phone will sit on your desk. This means people are very familiar with the work environment and can hit the ground running.  And crucially our military counterparts form working relationships with us ahead of their deployment.

Scenarios are played out to prepare for all possible foreseeable events. For example, Brigadier Doug and I role played a visit of the Secretary of State for Defence – a visit that happened in reality on 28^th March. Having been in Afghanistan now for 10 years the military have honed their training and preparation based on lessons on the ground of what works.  Working effectively with civilian experts in one combined team is now seen as essential in counter insurgency campaigns. The lessons have been learnt and are now being applied.

I arrived in Lashkar Gah on 9th March and took up my new role at precisely 10.45 on 12 March during a “Transfer of Authority” ceremony as it is known in military speak. At the US HQ base in Helmand - Camp Leatherneck, General Toolan - the US Marine Commander - transferred authority to his successor General Gurganus, and Michael O’Neil did the same to me. As the first ever Joint Military/Civilian Transfer of Authority Ceremony this was a historic event and a clear signal of the very close working relationship between the military and civilians in Helmand. The organisation which I now head - the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team - works with our coalition and Afghan partners in supporting peaceful transition to Afghan leadership across Helmand province. As well as heading the PRT, I am also the ISAF Senior Civilian Representative for South West Afghanistan. It’s a unique role and will probably be the toughest leadership challenge of my career.

Life in Helmand is pretty full on. We work 6.5 days a week with Friday morning as our time off. People say the days are long but the weeks are short and I would agree with that. During my first two weeks I have been getting up to speed on the range of work covered by the PRT, meeting some of the 200 staff (a mix of civilians and military from the UK, US, Denmark and Estonia), and getting to know my key political interlocutor, the Provincial Governor of Helmand Province, Ghulab Mangal, and my US military counterpart General Gurganus. I have visited four Districts, attended the reception for the opening of the new Helmand radio station, set in train an assessment of local security issues, and attended a vigil for the six British soldiers tragically killed. I plan to blog on some of these issues over the next few weeks

Ms Laing takes up her post as Head of Mission for the Helmand PRT and ISAF Senior Civilian Representative for RC (SW) in March.

Catriona Laing started her career as a transport economist with the Government of Botswana. She then joined the UK government’s Overseas Development Administration through the government economic service. She was posted to Kenya with responsibility for economic advice on the UK government’s development programmes in Uganda and Tanzania.

Ms Laing was seconded to the United Nations Mission in Somalia where she headed up the UN Development Office with responsibility for transition from humanitarian relief to early recovery.

When the Labour Government created the new Department for International Development Ms Laing led the Government’s White Paper on Globalisation.

She spent five years working for Prime Minister Tony Blair in his strategy unit leading projects on energy, environment, education, fragile states and productivity. She was the government official responsible for developing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

On return to DFID Ms Laing was UK Alternate Director for the European Investment Bank. She was then posted to head the DFID office in Sudan running a £116 million programme and addressing the drivers of conflict.

Ms Laing transferred to the UK Ministry of Justice to establish the new international function with responsibility for European and international justice. 

Today is my last day in Helmand, concluding in a joint transfer ceremony with Maj Gen John Toolan of the US Marines to our successors.  It’s a good moment to take stock of progress.

Helmand Province has been transformed in the past two years, building on foundations lain in the preceding years by ISAF and Afghan forces.  Threats still persist – as the tragic deaths last week of six British soldiers showed.  But the situation is very different from 2010.  When I visited Marjah for the first time that July we were not able to leave the military base because of high levels of insecurity.  That summer and autumn Royal Marines, US Marines and Afghan troops took heavy casualties in Sangin.  Almost all of north Helmand was accessible only by air.  Even in central Helmand large parts of Nad-Ali were under insurgent control.

A year on Nad-Ali was a 20-minute drive from Lashkar Gah.  In December Governor Mangal took Afghan MPs to Marjah to meet local officials in a café where my successor and I had lunch the month before.  In January Mangal was the first Governor in 30 years to drive from Kajaki to Lashkar Gah.  Last month 3,100 Sangin elders registered for its first local election.  Seven Districts now draw funds from Afghan systems under the District Delivery Program.

Life for ordinary people is changing for the better.  Today 120,000 children go to school – a quarter of them girls – a 50% rise from late-2010.  In the last two years 744km of roads were built and 45 major canal assets repaired, and numbers of justice officials doubled.  49 health centres are open, up from 27 in 2009.  Since July 2011 3,500 students completed vocational training in Lashkar Gah and Gereshk, over 70% finding new jobs.  By November 20,000 will have graduated from 15 training centres across Helmand, including five centres for women.

This remarkable progress has come through the efforts of an exceptional team of Afghan and international partners, led for four years by Governor Gulab Mangal.  His firm leadership and the service and sacrifice of Afghan and international security forces have been the foundation for improved security, new freedom of movement and a better life for the people of Helmand.

The Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team typifies the combined team.  A UK-led multi-national, civil-military body, it includes over 200 British, US, Danish, Estonian and Afghan staff:  diplomats, military officers, civil police, engineers, lawyers and experts in agriculture, infrastructure, governance and other fields.  It is a mark of progress in Helmand that the PRT is now drawing down as we hand over to Afghan leadership.  But its work is not yet finished.

Few now dispute Helmand’s progress.  The task ahead is to ensure it is sustained to 2014 and beyond – when international assistance will continue, but in different forms from today – as our own numbers reduce. Considering the progress made since 2010, this is a realistic goal.  

Plenty of challenges remain – and won’t end by 2014.  More work is needed to develop the Afghan Army and Police.  Key PRT priorities are to strengthen the systems of governance, in particular links to Kabul, investment in economic infrastructure – roads, canals, power – and facilitating private sector growth for jobs and prosperity.  It’s a demanding agenda but a good roadmap for the future, with foundations that have become progressively stronger since 2010.

My successor inherits a strong team, which will continue to work hand-in-glove with Afghan authorities, the US Marines and the UK-led Task Force Helmand.  It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to be part of that team for 18 months.  I wish every success to those who come next.

Helmand Province offers a microcosm of the wide range of conditions facing women and girls in Afghanistan.  In many rural areas it's hard for girls to get any kind of education, and extremely difficult to find trained female teachers.  There's a desperate shortage of trained midwives, with all the obvious consequences for maternal and child mortality.  And women and girls sometimes suffer terribly from harsh traditional custom and practice.

But this is far from the full story. Helmand has two women in the national parliament in Kabul, four in the 15-person Provincial Council, more than half-a-dozen others in the Lashkar Gah and Gereshk local councils - all elected, all vociferous in presenting their views.  As education for girls expands, there will be others to take their place.  Almost 30,000 girls now attend school in Helmand – an increase of almost two-thirds since late-2010.  Female entrepreneurs are finding a place, for instance to run Lashkar Gah’s largest chicken farm.

Thanks to the leadership of these women more is being done to extend opportunity.  1,100 women are studying at two new Vocational Training Centres, with three more to open this year.  24 community midwives graduated last month, contributing to a doubling in numbers of midwives since 2009.  The Afghan Police in Helmand now has over 20 female recruits.  Several dozen judges and prosecutors received training last year in principles of family law.  By mid-2013 Lashkar Gah prison will have a new purpose-built wing for women. 

We're directly supporting all of this.  But as in all our work, the key to further advances is Afghan leadership.  It grows stronger all the time.  Last month Mangal – the only man in the room – opened a pre-International Women’s Day shura for 150 female Helmandis to discuss women and children's rights, insecurity, education and employment. They and hundreds more will meet this week in Lashkar Gah and Gereshk to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Enhancing the position of women won't be achieved quickly or easily in Afghanistan, nor will progress come at an even pace across the country.  But Helmand's experience, in the heart of the conservative Pashtun South, shows that change is possible and flourishing.

I visited Sangin today for the last time as Head of the PRT. It’s a place where many ISAF and Afghan troops have lost their lives over the years. When I went for the first time in October 2010 we had to fly in after dark for security reasons. That summer and autumn Royal Marines and US Marines took very heavy casualties. Sangin epitomised the challenges in northern Helmand.

Today Sangin is a symbol of progress.  Last week Afghan officials conducted registration for its first ever local election. Over 3,000 Elders took part, which would represent the highest turnout for a local election in Helmand. That included a woman, a widowed ex-Mujahideen fighter – which may not sound a big deal, but in remote, conservative north Helmand is a remarkable development. The election itself in late-March will produce Helmand’s eighth elected local council, further extending the writ of Afghan governance across this province.

Such progress in less than 18 months is a tribute to the courage and sacrifice of British, US and Afghan security forces, and to the leadership of Governor Mangal and District Governor Sharif.  On 1 January 2011 Mangal concluded a security accord with Alikozai Elders from the Upper Sangin Valley – not the end of hostilities but a vital first step.  By the summer Sangin had an appointed interim Council, supported through Afghan systems with PRT funding and technical advice. By the end of the year Afghan experts assessed that the situation was ripe for full elections – following the same path as Marjah in central Helmand 12 months earlier.

Sangin’s story also illustrates the transformational effect of paved roads and the security and freedom of movement they bring. Last autumn Mangal drove from Lashkar Gah to Sangin in 40 minutes, on Route 611 newly constructed with UAE funds. The Afghan experts who oversaw registration last week returned to the provincial capital by the same route in ordinary civilian vehicles. Suddenly the reach of governance doesn’t depend on ISAF helicopters.

There are still challenges in the north. Late last week seven Afghan soldiers were killed by an IED. But people are signalling clearly their desire for change. We will continue to support stronger governance and development in the area, from Lashkar Gah and through our civilian District Stabilisation Team on the ground. This month we will let a contract to pave Route 611 north to Kajaki – a joint UK/UAE/US project to secure access to the strategically vital hydropower plant at Kajaki. There’s now a strong Afghan government presence there, following successful security operations last autumn. Northern Helmand is changing fast.

The test of progress in our work – and the essence of Transition – is whether the Afghan authorities and people can build on the transformation emerging across Helmand in the past two or three years.  Last week offered several encouraging signs that they’re ready to do so.

On Thursday I joined Gov Mangal, Ministry Directors, District Governors and Councillors and 300 other local leaders to mark the growing success of the District Delivery Programme – a major initiative to connect national, provincial and district authorities to plan, budget and deliver services for ordinary people.  Mangal signed 40 DDP-funded contracts that day for health, education, agriculture and irrigation projects in Nahr-e-Saraj, Nawa and Garmsir.

The day before Mangal greeted the latest set of 2,000 graduates at Lashkar’s Gah vocational training centre – double the number of the inaugural class whose graduation I attended last September.  2,000 new students now take their place.  The same day Mangal opened a centre with places for 700 women.  Meanwhile 500 young people completed training in Gereshk.

These are the building blocks for successful Transition:  effective systems of government to serve people’s needs, and access to education and jobs.  These two events also reflected the changing partnership between Afghanistan and its partners – Afghan systems and institutions, drawing on international donor assistance, but with foreigners increasingly in the background.

Transition requires capable Afghan security forces too – threats have fallen sharply since I arrived in 2010, but haven’t disappeared.  Last week illustrated that point as well, when an insurgent suicide bomb killed and injured several dozen innocent people – including three PRT staff.  The incident also showed the professionalism of Afghan security services.  It was Afghan police who swiftly cordoned off the area and evacuated casualties to a local hospital.  Thanks to their efforts, that was the first effective attack in Lashkar Gah in four months.

At the end of the week Ambassador William Patey came down to see the team and thank our security guards for their good work to evacuate staff caught in the attack.  He also discussed prospects for Transition with Maj Gen Toolan, and saw for himself in Sangin and the Upper Gereshk Valley the extent of change unfolding even in the most difficult areas of Helmand.

A New Year in Helmand

Returning to Helmand in early January, there’s clear evidence of both progress and continuing challenges as we enter 2012 – and, for me, my last two months in Afghanistan.

On Thursday in Nad-Ali I was briefed on the further expansion of security across northern areas of the District, following Afghan-led operations in December.  I got similar briefings when I visited Nad-Ali for the first time in late-2010.  Whole swathes of the map that were then marked as insecure are now stable – and protected by Afghan forces rather than ISAF.

The week before Gov Mangal addressed 300 elders in Kajaki – the largest public gathering in the area for years, on a site that two months earlier was dominated by insurgents, laced with IEDs and all but abandoned by its residents.  Mangal told the elders about the (UK-UAE) project to pave Route 611 north from Sangin, and USAID plans to improve power supply.

Both Districts have also suffered insurgent violence in the past week – the assassination of a local security chief last Wednesday in Nad-Ali, and an IED in a Kajaki bazaar that killed twenty civilians as well as Afghan and ISAF security personnel patrolling in the area.

Despite such atrocities, and the tragic deaths of US Marines and civilian contractors in two unrelated helicopter crashes, we start the New Year in a stronger position than last January.  Four of Helmand’s 14 Districts are in Transition, with more expected to follow in the coming months.  On Sunday the Danish Prime Minister visited Lashkar Gah and travelled by road to visit Mangal in his office – the first time a foreign head of government has made that journey.

Afghan assessments count for more than our judgements.  That’s why the New Year visit of Ashraf Ghani, President Karzai’s key Transition adviser, was so important.  Ghani returned to Kabul convinced Helmand was on the right road, despite the challenges – the same sense reported by the Senators and MPs who visited in December.  A Province that until recently seemed a nest of instability is increasingly touted by Afghan themselves as a success story.  There’s no room for complacency, but plenty of grounds for a positive outlook in 2012.