INTERNATIONAL  RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT   |  1621 NORTH KENT STREET, 4TH FLOOR  |  ARLINGTON, VA 22209 

T  703.248.0161   |  F 703.248.0194   |  WWW.IRD.ORG 

 

International Relief and Development Awarded World Bank Contract for Afghanistan Monitoring and Compliance

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  SEPTEMBER 2, 2011  CONTACT: MELISSA PRICE 571‐366‐1596 PRESS@IRD‐DC.ORG 

ARLINGTON, VA – International Relief and Development (IRD), a leading non-governmental organization that assists vulnerable people through relief, community stabilization and sustainable development, today announced it has been awarded the World Bank-funded Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) Third-Party Monitoring of Core National Investment Programs Project. The initial funding level of $7.8 million is for the first year of a three year program.

“We are proud to be working with the World Bank to help ensure that resources are directed to the people who need them in Afghanistan,” said Dr. Arthur B. Keys, Jr., President and CEO of IRD. “Assisting vulnerable communities in conflict situations is never easy. We will continue to work with Afghan and international authorities to implement monitoring and compliance systems to guide Afghanistan’s long-term development and stability.”

In Afghanistan, it is exceedingly difficult to properly track and monitor project execution at the field level. Consequently, there is a critical need for accurate and comprehensive monitoring of activity outputs and technical compliance of individual projects through independent, third-party site monitoring. Using its extensive expertise in multi-sector project monitoring and reporting in Afghanistan, IRD will help strengthen the World Bank’s technical supervision of the ARTF investment portfolio through year-round monitoring of select ARTF construction projects. IRD will perform wide ranging asset verification and technical quality assurance inspections in the field across Afghanistan and report the results to the World Bank.

This new World Bank program continues IRD’s monitoring and compliance initiatives in Afghanistan and builds on the success of two previous IRD projects. In May, IRD was awarded a contract by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the Engineering, Quality Assurance and Logistical Support Program (EQUALS). This program, with a ceiling of $96.8 million, is the successor to the USAID-funded Human Resources and Logistics Support (HRLS II) program.

-- more --

 

INTERNATIONAL  RELIEF & DEVELOPMENT   |  1621 NORTH KENT STREET, 4TH FLOOR  |  ARLINGTON, VA 22209 

T  703.248.0161   |  F 703.248.0194   |  WWW.IRD.ORG 

 

IRD was awarded the Human Resources and Logistical Services (HRLS) contract in May 2004 and was awarded a competitively-bid, follow-on contract (HRLS II) two years later. Within the scope of these contracts, IRD has provided more than 200 international and Afghan national staff to assist USAID with a broad range of mission critical needs, including site inspections in all Afghanistan provinces, quality assurance and quality control, project evaluations, technical reviews and technical capacity building.

In addition to the new contract in Afghanistan, IRD has worked with the World Bank on projects in the Republic of Niger and Southern Sudan.

Visit www.ird.org for more information on IRD. You can also stay up-to-date on IRD’s latest news by following us on Facebook, Twitter (@ird_voices), Flickr, or YouTube. IRD is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization responsible for implementing relief, stabilization, and development programs worldwide. IRD’s mission is to reduce the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable groups and provide the tools and resources needed to increase their self-sufficiency. Specializing in meeting the needs of communities emerging from conflict or natural disaster, IRD partners with donors, local organizations, and many others to deliver sustainable services in agriculture, governance, health, and infrastructure. For more information, visit IRD.org.

###