It is almost two years since Hamish Wilson, Impact's Relief and Development senior consultant, first went to work in Afghanistan. Hamish will spend the next two months in Kabul and the Helmand Province working with the Department for International Development.

Afghanistan is a desperately poor country, ravaged by decades of war. The challenges of reconstruction and development following the events of September 11 are even more difficult in the face of deteriorating security and a resurgent Taliban.

Afghanistan is also a country in which 80% of people depend upon agriculture to support their livelihoods. As such, rural development is vital to address chronic food insecurity and help combat the rise in opium poppy cultivation.

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) is playing a leading role in the international effort in Afghanistan and recently approached the Relief and Development Group to support its programme.

In response, senior consultant Hamish Wilson has been seconded to DFID for a two-month assignment as Livelihoods Adviser. The role will see him based in Kabul, travelling to Afghanistan’s provinces to launch a comprehensive livelihoods development programme, aimed at sparking economic growth and tackling the growing narcotics trade.

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The Relief and Development Group is a specialist consultancy division of Impact International with the aim of generating leadership action to improve the lives of people in crisis. To read more about their work please click here.