Development aid effectiveness and public perception

Development efforts in Afghanistan face great challenges, including the deteriorating security, illicit economies, large and diverse international involvement with military and civilian components, the nascent State institutions and their limited but growing capacities, and the complex humanitarian and development context. These challenges have not only slowed development, but they’ve also resulted in development aid becoming less efficient and less effective.

The efficiency of aid distribution in Afghanistan has received great criticism as of late. Much of the aid through the Government is caught up in Kabul and significant amounts of international funding are reported to go to corporate profits or expensive foreign consultants. Some of this is the result of ‘tied aid’ where donors tie their funding to stipulations that percentages of it go to imported labour and materials – most often from their own countries. In 2006, a report following up on the Paris Declaration of Aid Effectiveness, reported that one half of all aid in Afghanistan is tied. The end result of these agreements, corporate profits, and the focus on consultants, is that less money supports Afghan communities.

In addition, development aid continues to be perceived, by many international and Afghan actors, to be targeted towards objectives other than poverty alleviation - primarily to counter insurgency and opium cultivation. This bias in development aid is in addition to the contrasting enormous amount of money already spent on military efforts (with a recent ACBAR report estimating that current US military expenses per day in Afghanistan are equal to 14 times the average amount of all development spending per day since 2001. Significant amounts of aid are also aligned with international military presences at specific Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs). Recent reports support these concerns, as differences in aid disbursement do not correlate well with need, but rather the insurgency.

Corresponding with the different objectives and insecure locations is the focus on visible and quick impact projects. The projects are intended to win public support, but often undermine it by merely supporting local power holders. As these efforts are not followed up with longer-term, more nuanced programs they actually can increase the perception of marginalization both locally and nationally.

For Afghan communities the aid and well-publicized promises have created great expectations and confusion. The failures to meet these expectations, and perceptions of corruption and that development strategies are focused on political agendas, have created frustration and resentment in communities throughout Afghanistan.

Appeal

With the urgency and complexity of poverty in Afghanistan, Caritas Internationalis calls on national and international actors to refocus on poverty alleviation and social justice. More specifically, we request:

• A more direct focus on poverty reduction and social justice corresponding to need and opportunity,
• Greater coordination of development and humanitarian aid with concerted efforts to harmonize development aid distribution and prioritize humanitarian aid,
• Consistent, multi-year funding for broad-based development programs that allow for community leadership and trust,
• Greater transparency and increased oversight of aid, including evaluation of the development and reconstruction process, including funding mechanisms and implementing agencies, measured against stated objectives including poverty alleviation and social justice,
• Greater coordination and prioritization of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan.

For more information, please contact Caritas Internationalis Head of Communications Patrick Nicholson on 0039 06 698 79725 or 0039 334 3590700 or nicholson@caritas.va.