Helmand is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the south-west of the country. Its capital is Lashkargah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, proving irrigation.

The population is 1,011,600 and the surface area is 23,058 square miles. The population is largely Pashtun.

 
US Aid Programmes

Helmand was the center of a U.S. development program in the 1960s - it was even nicknamed "little America". The program laid out tree-lined streets in Lashkargah, built a network of irrigation canals and constructed a large hydroelectric dam. The program was abandoned when the communists seized power in 1978.

More recently the American USAID programme has contributed to a counter-narcotics initiative called the Alternative Income Project (AIP) in the province. It pays communities to work to improve their environment and economic infrastructure as an alternative to Opium poppy farming. The project undertakes drainage and canal rehabilitation projects.

 Districts:Gerishk District;Baghran District