The U.S. Agency for International Development is expanding support for the promotion and development of media activities in Afghanistan.
The agency is launching a new project to improve the availability of reliable and accurate information about Afghanistan in order to enable its citizens to make informed choices about services, goods and their government, the Washington Post reports.
Dubbed the Afghanistan Media Development and Empowerment Project, the initiative includes efforts to create regional media training and production centers around the country, consolidate existing local professional associations and provide technical assistance to government ministries engaged with the media.
USAID issued a pre-solicitation notice last week to announce the project, the Washington Post says. According to the notice, the agency will implement the project through non-governmental organizations and firms willing to forego profit.
The first project expected under the initiative is a mobile phone service that offers free daily news reports, the newspaper says.
