Twenty-five years of conflict has left Afghanistan with a profound need for extensive intervention to address reconstruction and development requirements, particularly in rural areas, many of which were never reached by consecutive governmental developmental plans. In 2002, the transitional administration of the country recognized that the legitimacy of the new government by the rural population depended in no small measure on its ability to deliver long-awaited assistance to rural communities across the country, and the idea for the National Solidarity Programme was born. The Programme was designed and initiated in 2003 under the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), and was financed by a consortium of international donors coordinated by the World Bank.