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Hopes for peace in Afghanistan have been undermined by the failure of major international donors to deliver some 10 billion dollars in pledged humanitarian assistance and the "wasteful and ineffective" use of available aid money, according to a new report entitled 'Falling Short'.

25th March 08 - The Earth Times.  Report issued by by the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), consisting of 94 agencies including Oxfam, Christian Aid, CARE, Islamic Relief and Save the Children.

Link to report by Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief: Falling short: Aid effectiveness in Afghanistan

Following the ouster of Taliban regime in late 2001, the international community pledged to deliver some 25 billion dollars to reconstruct the war-shattered country and build up its security forces to fight insurgents.

But since then only 15 billion dollars has been delivered, leaving a 10-billion-dollar shortfall for the country, where some 90 per cent of public spending comes from the international aid money, the report said.

The US government, which is the biggest international donor to Afghanistan, "also has one of the biggest shortfalls," delivering only half of the 10.4 billion dollars of pledged money until 2008, it said.

Meanwhile, other donors such as the European Commission and Germany distributed less than two-thirds of their respective 1.7 billion dollars and 1.2 billion dollars in commitments, it said, adding that the World Bank has distributed just over half of its commitment.

The report said that some 40 per cent of the spent aid money has returned to rich countries such as the US, through corporate profits, consultant salaries and other costs, "vastly pushing up expenditure."

"The reconstruction of Afghanistan requires a sustained and substantial commitment of aid - but donors have failed to meet their aid pledges to Afghanistan," said Matt Waldman, Afghanistan policy adviser at international aid agency Oxfam and the report's author.

"Too much aid from rich countries is wasted, ineffective or uncoordinated," Waldman said.

Aid to tackle poverty is a fraction of what is spent on international military operations.

"Whilst the US military is currently spending 100 million dollars a day in Afghanistan, aid spent by all donors since 2001 is on average less than a tenth of that - just 7 million dollars a day," the report said.

The report also indicated that "a disproportionate amount of aid" ... "is being used for political and military objectives rather than reducing poverty."

Six years since the formation of Western-backed Afghan government, the country suffers from woeful poverty. Only 20 per cent of its people have access to potable water, while only 5 per cent to electricity.

According to the recent reports from southern province of Ghazni, residents in remote villages were eating grass to quench their hunger, while many families in the northern provinces sell their children because they were not able to feed them.

"Some two-thirds of foreign assistance bypasses the Afghan government, which undermines efforts to build effective state institutions, especially at sub-national level," the report said.

"This is partly attributable to problems in budget execution, weak governance, inadequate government human capacity and widespread corruption - which the Afghan government and donors over the past six years should have done more to address."

The report called on the international community to urgently increase the volume of aid and ensure it makes a sustainable difference for the poorest Afghans, especially in rural areas.

"Aid must address Afghan needs, build local capacities and help Afghans help themselves," Waldman said.

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Related article:

WFP food distributions begin for Afghans hit by high food prices

6th March 08: World Food Programme

The World Food Programme has begun providing emergency food assistance to millions of Afghans who can no longer afford to buy wheat and wheat flour, staples of the Afghan diet. WFP distributions in rural, urban and semi-urban areas were due to start this week.

“Between now and mid-year, WFP aims to reach 2.5 million people in both urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. They urgently need food to help them overcome increases in wheat prices that have exceeded 70 percent over the past 12 months,” said Rick Corsino, WFP’s Country Director in Afghanistan.

Distributions

In and around the capital, Kabul, WFP will distribute wheat to 650,000 people, with beneficiaries including households headed by women, very large households with single-wage earners and the disabled.

The food distributions in Afghanistan come as rising commodity prices push basic foodstuffs out of the reach of poor people in many countries and also threaten to cut into planned food assistance by organizations like WFP.

With global food prices up 40 percent since last June, WFP says the cost of projects already approved for 2008 has risen by US$500 million to reach a total of US$3.4 billion.

Appeal

On 24 January, the Afghanistan Government and the United Nations appealed jointly to the international community to assist in addressing the humanitarian consequences of the rise in food prices.

WFP requested US$77 million to deliver 89,000 metric tons of food to the poorest Afghans. Thus far, about two-thirds of this has been pledged by several donors.

“We must take immediate action to reduce the impact of soaring food prices on poor people in Afghanistan,” said Corsino. “Distributions will be completed before the main mid-year wheat harvest as we do not want this additional food to discourage Afghan farmers from growing wheat for domestic markets and needs.”

The 89,000 tons of food requested in the joint appeal is on top of the 180,000 tons that WFP plans to distribute in 2008 for nearly 3.7 million people recovering from war, civil unrest and recurring natural disasters.

Floods

Spring floods are a further concern to the Government and WFP. As temperatures gradually rise towards the end of an especially harsh winter, melting snows and spring rains are expected to threaten tens of thousands of people.

Working with provincial authorities and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, WFP plans to position 15,000 tons of food in those areas at greatest risk.

These include the most food insecure areas in the central, western and north-eastern regions.

“We are moving now in anticipation of what has become a common spring occurrence, where hundreds of communities are hit by flooding that destroys homes and agricultural land and kills livestock,” said Corsino.

In recent years, as the winter has ended there has been a marked increase in both insurgent and criminal activity, threatening WFP food movements, especially in the south and southeast of the country. WFP again appeals to all parties to respect this vital humanitarian effort that aims to reach the poorest Afghans with essential food.

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