The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) provides funding to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), specifically for UN-HABITAT’s Governance and Development Support Programme.

This program sets goals for local governments in Kandahar City and the town of Spin Boldak, Afghanistan to accomplish.

CIDA funding is helping the Kandahar City government to:

• Provide basic services to its residents.
• Generate revenue on its own.
• Improve how it’s managed.
• Bolster service delivery to citizens, particularly through new Community Development Councils (CDCs), which act as a bridge between the city government and its residents.
• Provide clean drinking water and improve sewage drains, among other vital needs.

For Spin Boldak, UN-HABITAT uses CIDA funding to:

• Develop a city profile and a strategic local action plan.
• Build roads, sanitation drains and other infrastructure.

A Community Development Council (CDC) meets in Kapisa.

© Afghanistan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development

The Governance and Development Support Programme has achieved significant results:

• It has created more than 85 Community Development Councils (CDCs) in Kandahar City.
• 70 CDC-led projects have been completed, with a further 28 that are ongoing.
• A land registry program for Kandahar City was developed. (To date, the program has led to the registration of more than 23,000 plots in the city, which prevents the eviction of landowners. The program also provides the city government with another source of revenue.).
• Roads received paving, culverts and public toilets were constructed, and drains have been repaired.

• Afghanistan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development
• UN-HABITAT
• Afghanistan Sub-national Governance Program