Showing posts with label humanitarian-aid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humanitarian-aid. Show all posts

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Economy, Development, and Humanitarian News




Slow Progress in Badghis. Officials in this northwestern province of Afghanistan are warning that there will likely be public protests if there is no significant progress on a number of long-delayed development schemes. There is a lack of safe drinking water and reliable electricity. Read "Anger Over Slow Progress in Afghan Province", Institute for War & Peace Reporting, March 19, 2018.

Badakhshan Mines. The lapis mines of this area of Afghanistan is one of the richest assets of the Afghan people but the Taliban and other crime groups are the organizations receiving benefit from the mining of these gems. Read more in "Gemstone Smuggler Says Badakhshan Mines Out of Govt Control", Tolo News, March 21, 2018.


Saturday, March 7, 2015

US Efforts of Reconstruction Misplaced

A recent article by Kiran Nazish in The Diplomat states that the United States had the wrong approach to humanitarian and reconstruction aid provided to Afghanistan. While many look at the senior government officials and their corrupt practices as the principle reason for the failure of much of the reconstruction effort - Nazish puts most of the blame on the United States. Hmmmm. Not sure about that. Read his thoughts on U.S. reconstruction aid to Afghanistan in "The Misplaced Priorities of US Reconstruction Efforts in Afghanistan" dated February 18, 2015.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Afghanistan Still Dependent on West

The western world has sunk massive amounts of aid money into Afghanistan. Some of this aid money has been used to a good purpose with measurable results. However, much of the aid money was siphoned off by corrupt Afghan politicians, squandered on expensive projects poorly done or still incomplete, or paid to contractors and implementing partners to provide security for aid projects in contested areas. Read more in "After 10 Years of Western Aid, Afghanistan Is A Dependent Mess", Business Insider, December 24, 2014.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Uphill Battle for Female Aid Workers

This article (Dec 15, 2014) provided by IRIN - a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - describes the obstacles that women have while employed by humanitarian organizations working in Afghanistan. Read "Afghanistan: Uphill struggle for female aid workers".

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

London Conference on Afghanistan 2014

The London Conference on Afghanistan will take place on 4 December 2014. It will be held in London (of course) and co-hosted by the governments of the UK and Afghanistan. The conference will provide a platform for the government of Afghanistan to set out its vision for reform and for the international community to demonstrate solidarity and support for Afghanistan. Learn more about the London Conference on Afghanistan 2014 on the UK gov website.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Aid - Time to Rethink Delivery Mechanism?

Afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world (only Somalia and North Korea are worse). The international community, including the United Kingdom, pumped billions of dollars of humanitarian and development aid into Afghanistan over the past decade. Unfortunately, a large proportion of this aid found its way to corrupt Afghan government officials, police, and businessmen. Aid was delivered in many instances on the idea of "faith" - that the middleman (Afghan government, Afghan businessman, etc.) would carry out the provisions of the aid program as stipulated. However, much of the aid went in another direction. Cash to Dubai bank accounts, building materials for homes of government officials, and food and supplies to the Kabul markets for sale. Upon reflection, many observers are now thinking that the military is the best mechanism to distribute aid - bypassing the corrupt host nation officials that dilute the humanitarian effect. While the international aid worker community would object, many military members saw the Provisional Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) as good organizations that provided a mechanism to get aid down to the province and district level and bypassing the corrupt Kabul government officials. Read more in "Fixing aid: bypass corruption with military precision", The Conversation, November 17, 2014.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Aid Workers in Risky Business

There are numerous aid workers of all sorts working in Afghanistan throughout the country. Many work in the more dangerous areas. Read an online article about the risks that aid workers face in Afghanistan and elsewhere in A risky business: Aid workers in danger, DEVEX, October 8, 2014.

Friday, October 17, 2014

International Humanitarian Aid Drying Up

As Afghanistan moves from center stage on the world scene the international community is sending less aid. Other areas of the world (Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Africa, etc.) are taking the attention in the news and demanding scarce resources. One example of the diminished aid is an Afghan girl's school in Kandahar. The Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies will be closing its doors. It's reliance on international aid kept it open but the aid has fallen off. Read more in "Afghan girl's school in Kandahar faces closure as international funds dry up", The Guardian, October 15, 2014.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

"If not me, then who?"

The management team at Team Rubicon make the case that the United States should provide opportunities for Afghan and Iraq war veterans to contribute once they leave military service. They say that the vast majority of returning veterans want to continue to serve their country - not only here in the United States but in troubled areas overseas. They believe that organizations such as the Peace Corp and USAID should make a concerted effort to recruit veterans for their programs and that funding should be increased to support those programs. Read more in "Why We Should Send Vets Back to Iraq and Afghanistan", Time.com, October 14, 2014.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Aid Worker Recounts His Afghan Near Escape

An aid worker, Dominic Nutt, provides us with his story of near death in Afghanistan. He discusses the peril of aid work in Afghanistan and other parts of the world. In addition, despite the risks, he tells us why aid workers continue their work when their lives are in danger. Read "Aid workers are there to help - even if some die trying", The Telegraph, September 16, 2014.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Humanitarian Aid in Afghanistan Faces Challenges

There are many humanitarian aid organizations working in Afghanistan. Their reach to remote areas of the country is becoming more difficult with the withdrawal of U.S. and other ISAF troops. The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) have their hands full trying to stop the Taliban from overtaking districts and more of the rural countryside. This reduces the areas that the aid organizations can operate in and more importantly - provide proper oversight and monitoring of their projects. Read more in "Analysis: Challenges around aid access in Afghanistan", IRIN, September 9, 2014 at this link.