Drugs and (Dis)order Interviews with Donor Organisations, Afghanistan, 2018-2019

Collection of semi-structured interviews with government officials, community representatives, donors and NGOs to study the effect of implementation of development projects in the provinces of Nangarhar, Nimroz and Badakshan. The purpose of the research is to record all development organizations active in Nangarhar, Nimroz and Badakshan provinces since 2002 and to map all programs, projects and policies that have been implemented from 2002 to 2017 in the provinces, in particular where they have a counter-narcotic aim.

Drugs & (dis)order is a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project generating new evidence on how to transform illicit drug economies into peace economies in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar. By 2030, more than 50% of the world’s poor will live in fragile and conflict-affected states. And many of today’s armed conflicts are fuelled by illicit drug economies in borderland regions. Trillions of dollars have been spent on the War on Drugs, but securitised approaches have failed. In fact, they often increase state fragility and adversely affect the health and livelihoods of communities and households. In light of these failures, there’s increasing recognition that drug policies need to be more pro-poor and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the evidence base for this policy reform is patchy, politicised and contested. Drugs & (dis)order is helping to generate pro-poor policy solutions to transform illicit economies into peace economies. To do this we will: (1) Generate a robust evidence base on illicit drug economies and their effects on armed conflict, public health and livelihoods. (2) Identify new approaches and policy solutions to build more inclusive development and sustainable livelihoods in drugs affected contexts. (3) Build a global network of researchers and institutions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar and the UK to continue this work.

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