The performance of the NGOs in Afghanistan is mixed at best in terms of the delivery of key services in a way that strengthens the leadership and legitimacy of the government. While NGOs have provided invaluable assistance to Afghanistan to address problems of poverty and inequity in a fragile, post-conflict environment, they also display tendencies to go it alone, resisting accountability to the host government and operating parallel programs, and competing with the government. Along the way, NGOs have also lost sight of their most valuable traditional role as mobilizers of the civil society, in fostering a participatory process of development. It is essential that NGOs adjust their basic attitude, role, approach, and delivery mechanisms to help strengthen the actual and perceived effectiveness and legitimacy of the government in the interest of the long-term development and stability of Afghanistan.