PowerPoint presentation from the December 1st presentation by Tameeza Alibhai, Program Manager of Aga Khan Foundation USA and FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance in Afghanistan.

InterAction news release:

International leaders meeting in Bonn on Monday to discuss the future of Afghanistan should expand their focus from short-term stabilization efforts  to longer term development work that will have a lasting impact on the country.

The FY2012 appropriations continued on a contorted path this week as House Appropriations Committee Chair Harold Rogers (R-KY) outlined his path toward completing the process and details emerged that the next Senate mini-bus will likely include the State, Foreign Operations bill, along with Financial Services and Energy—Water.

The House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations finally released their FY2012 report, available here.

PhilanTopic wrote a blog after interviewing InterAction's Vice President for Humanitarian Policy and Practice, Joel R. Charny,about the effects 9/11 had on NGOs.

Reuters' writers Susan Cornwell and Andrew Quinn wrote about the significant loss the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development could face under Obama's new plan.

On July 8, the full House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012 by a 336-87 vote, with 12 Republicans and 75 Democrats opposing the spending measure.

InterAction watched with interest this week President Obama’s speech on troop levels in Afghanistan. With much of the attention centered on the aspects of the security transition, the face of long-term development in Afghanistan remains to be seen. In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the U.S.

This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was busy with several nominations hearings, including one for former U.S. ambassador to both Pakistan and Iraq, Ryan Crocker, who this time is up for the position in Afghanistan. Furthermore, Dr. Ariel Pablos Mendez testified on Tuesday to be the next USAID Assistant Administrator for Global Health.

This week, House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY) announced a disappointing FY2012 subcommittee allocation for State, Foreign Operations that continues the radically downward trend in spending for international affairs begun in FY2011.

Arthur Keys, President and CEO of IRD stated today: "I was concerned when reading a Washington Post article by its Afghanistan reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran which inaccurately portrayed the situation on the ground in Afghanistan with c

Yesterday, the compromise FY2011 full-year appropriations bill (HR 1473) passed through Congress, with a 260-117 vote in the House of Representatives and an 81-19 vote in the Senate. President Obama will sign the bill sometime today.

Last week, General David Petraeus and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michéle Flournoy testified before the Armed Services Committee in both chambers about recent developments in Afghanistan. Find a summary of these hearings below, as well as information about legislation on Haiti recently introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and a list of upcoming hearings and articles of interest.

Weekly Public Policy Update for Feb. 11, 2011. Covers the upcoming federal budget discussions next week and several hearings on Capitol Hill that took place Feb. 7-11, 2011.

InterAction responds to the Obama administration’s recent Afghanistan and Pakistan strategy review by welcoming the long-term commitment to the development needs of the two countries but also highlighting several concerns with the overall assistance strategies in the countries.  

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled the final report of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). The report provides a blueprint for elevating American "civilian power" to better advance national interests and to be a better partner to the U.S. military.

Norgrove, who worked for the humanitarian agency Development Alternatives International (DAI), was kidnapped by militants before dying in a botched American special forces rescue operation last week. DAI’s six programmes in Afghanistan are run under contract to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Mercy Corps released a briefing paper summarizing results from research in Iraq and Afghanistan to understand how local people in both places perceive the work of different groups that implement development programs in their communities.  This study adds to a growing body of research that demonstrates the value of long-term, community-led, and needs-based assistance, even in inse

A progress report on Afghanistan since publication of InterAction’s 2008 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book.

Report of InterAction member organizations' activities in Afghanistan for 2009.