An IWPR report (Grave Abuse Alleged at Kabul Juvenile Centre) about the murder of a young boy in a Kabul juvenile detention centre where it was alleged that lax procedures had left children vulnerable to abuse has led to better care at the facility.
A flurry of local, national and international and local media reports about the apparently ruinous impact of cut-price foreign imports on Herat businesses is said to have been prompted by an IWPR article on the subject.
Conservation officials in Herat say the publication of an IWPR report on rare-bird trafficking has drawn support from the security services and the general public for their efforts to combat the trade.
Afghan officials say that an IWPR report highlighting the problem of security checkpoints located near clinics and schools has prompted them to change this practice.
Officials in the Tagab district of Kapisa province have said that an IWPR report on poppy cultivation in the district proved invaluable in them getting a 1.5 million US dollar grant from central government to help with efforts to persuade farmers to grow other crops. (See: Opium Poppies Creep Back in Afghan Province)
Journalists and officials say that the IWPR office in Herat has not only provided invaluable resources for local reporters but also helped enhance the standard of journalism in the region.
Herat police have received extra training in bomb disposal techniques following an IWPR report which highlighted the growing number of improvised explosive devices, IEDs, in the western province.
Government and prison officials say an IWPR report on dire conditions in Balkh jail have spurred them into launching a wide-ranging series of improvements (See: Hunger Strike Over Afghan Jail Conditions).
A senior figure in the independent Afghan media has described as “really powerful” an exclusive IWPR story on growing Taleban influence in Wardak province, a region just 35 kilometres from the capital Kabul.
IWPR implemented a wide-ranging news and information delivery system for the September 18 parliamentary poll that employed the use of cell phone technologies such as text messaging and voice-based user response to provide election news and information to millions of Afghan voters.
Lecturers and students at the journalism department of Kabul University have spoken enthusiastically about a series of recent IWPR training sessions which formed the first-ever NGO partnership programme with the faculty.
An IWPR report about allegations of Iranian interference with the Salma Dam, under construction in Herat province, grabbed the attention of the local authorities who immediately responded by posting a detachment of police to protect the project.
IWPR coverage of the imprisonment of Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, a young journalism student detained for downloading information about the position of women in Islam, was praised by Kambakhsh himself following his release from detention.
The Afghan election was one of the biggest stories on the international stage this year, with IWPR created arguably the most complete record of the campaign and polls by any media outlet working in Afghanistan.
As a result of IWPR journalist Ibrahimi's report on the sexual assault of a young girl, a police chief and four of his associates were sacked and are facing charges of criminal negligence.
One highlight of recent months was when Ibrahimi, IWPR's intrepid reporter in the north, won the Italian Journalists' Association's Journalist of the Year award.
In the last six months, IWPR's work in Afghanistan - which began shortly before the fall of the Taleban - has continued to strengthen media in the country.
