Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction

UNAMA is responsible for the direction and oversight of all UN relief, recovery and reconstruction activities. It has a strategic partnership with the Afghan authorities, particularly in the formulation of the National Development Framework.

Other activities under its responsibility include: to develop an integrated UN assistance program, giving special attention to measures promoting women’s rights and those of the most disadvantaged and underserved populations and ethnic groups; to monitor performance and ensure accountability; to ensure that UN assistance supports Afghan capacity building; to assign, in agreement with the Afghan Administration, thematic and sectoral responsibilities to UN agencies, which, acting as program secretariats, support Afghan counterpart ministries to oversee and coordinate all national and international actors, ensuring that all activities are coherent and responsive to needs.

2002

Tokyo Conference
Support for Relief, Recovery & Reconstruction for Afghanistan was initiated by an International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance on Afghanistan held in Tokyo on 21 and 22 January 2002. Addressing the Conference, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said such assistance would require USD 10 billion over a 10-year period, including USD 1.3 billion to cover immediate needs for 2002. The latter covered recurrent costs of the Interim Authority, humanitarian and recovery assistance as well as critical programs.

"Our challenge is to help the Afghans help themselves," the Secretary-General added, describing the country's reconstruction needs as immense. The World Bank, UNDP and Asian Development Bank, in collaboration with other partners, prepared a preliminary needs assessment that identified possible priority areas, highlighting the massive investment needed within the social sector.

The Tokyo Conference resulted in pledges of close to USD 5 billion over a six-year period.

Towards Development
2002 yielded some tangible results. Not only did refugee returns exceed expectations, but the 2002 return to school program also attracted over three million boys and girls within just three months of the inauguration of the Afghan Interim Administration. In addition, the UN helped control locust infestations and the adverse effects of natural disasters. The latter included effective responses to earthquake and flood victims. Most prominent was the Nahrin earthquake in the northern province of Baghlan in March 2002 – in response to which, food, shelter and other relief items were provided to some 15,000 families in 10 days. Assistance to the Afghan people was also provided over the hard winter months of 2001-2002, as well as food aid support to more than 60 per cent of Afghans. Nationwide immunization campaigns were successfully launched, as well as wide-scale surveying and clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO).

During this period, many problems required urgent action: Afghan cities and rural communities were coping with the rapid influx of returning refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), while levels of chronic malnutrition, food insecurity and socioeconomic vulnerability remained alarmingly high. With a large portion of the population dependent on some form of assistance, the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA) struggled to establish revenue sources, initiate civil service reform, and prioritize and coordinate the aid arriving in the country.

The ATA endorsed the UN transitional strategy, which focused on accelerating development of Government capacity, decentralizing assistance, developing sub-national programming geared to needs at provincial level, and developing a more integrated and cost-effective UN response.

In April 2002, the Afghan Administration launched the National Development Framework (NDF), which specified program areas through which to channel aid. Among them were returns of refugees and internally displaced persons; educational and vocational training; health and nutrition; livelihoods and social protection; culture, heritage, media and sport; security and the rule of law; natural resources management; urban management; and public administration.

To promote better coordination, Program Groups were formed in each sector of the NDF to bring together all actors, with each group guided by a lead ministry and technically supported by a Program Secretariat – normally a UN agency, multilateral institution or non-governmental organization (NGO). The Program Secretariats were tasked with assisting the Government in developing strong operational coordination mechanisms, providing technical support in drawing up the national development plans, and channeling resources toward national capacity building.

Several cross-cutting themes were set out in the NDF to be incorporated at all stages of programming: governance, area-based development and community participation, gender, drug control, peace building and human rights.

Return of Refugees and IDPs
The return of refugees from neighboring countries and IDPs is guided by the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MORR) and supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with assistance from the International Organization of Migration (IOM), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO) and a number of national and international NGOs.

By the end of August 2002, UNHCR, working closely with the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, had assisted with the return of approximately 1.6 million refugees from neighboring countries. This was facilitated through the establishment of 14 distribution and eight encashment centers, which provided household kits and over USD 15 million in travel grants to returning families. WFP also distributed 50-200 kgs of wheat flour to returnees, depending on the size of their families.
A returnee protection-monitoring network was established throughout Afghanistan in partnership with the ATA, UN agencies, international organizations and NGOs. The strengthening of protection for all returnees through registration, the provision of registration documents, and formal demarches vis-à-vis local authorities, was also put in place.
In addition to the large influx of returnees from other countries to Afghanistan, some 400,000 IDPs returned on their own to their areas of origin. Another 200,000 were assisted in returning to their villages through the provision of internal transport support. By June 2002, a number of IDP camps were either closed down or considerably reduced. Earlier in 2002, winterization kits had been distributed to some 90,000 internally displaced persons and other vulnerable populations.
Protection issues, nevertheless, remained a serious concern, with thousands of Pashtun IDPs in the south reluctant to return to their areas of origin in the north and west for fear of harassment and discrimination. A Return Commission was created in October, involving the local authorities in the north, Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, Afghan Human Rights Commission, UNAMA and UNHCR, to allow the eventual return of IDPs to the north. The focus was to ensure that those refugees and IDPs expected to return to their homes were provided with the means to do so in safety and dignity, as well as on the basis of informed decisions.

Well over 50 per cent of the refugees returned to Kabul and Jalalabad, seriously straining the infrastructure and the provision of basic social services, especially health and education.

Vulnerability, Livelihoods and Social Protection
The lead ministry guiding this program area is the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Rural Development (MRRD). Other Ministries involved are: Labor and Social Welfare; Urban Development; Martyrs and Disabled; Health; Reconstruction; Refugees and Repatriation; Agriculture; and Irrigation and the Environment, Education; and Women's Affairs. A working Group comprised of representatives from UN agencies and other assistance partners provides support to the various ministries. Agencies include the World Food Program (WFP); the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); The United Nations Human Settlements Program (HABITAT); Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); United Nations Development Program (UNDP); UNHCR; United Nations Women's Fund (UNIFEM); and United Nations Office of Project Services.

UN agencies and their NGO partners designed Food for Seed, Food for Asset Creation (FOODAC) and Food for Work programs to re-establish community assets by supporting labor-intensive activities in targeted districts. Approximately 3.1 million and 500,000 people benefited from FOODAC and Food for Work, respectively.

In addition, there were school feeding programs for 150,000 children, support to bakeries, supplementary feeding for 500,000 people, civil service salary supplements for 270,000 people and support to an urban vulnerable population of 250,000 people.
There was also drought-affected pre- and post-harvest relief for a planned caseload of over 6.3 million people – 3.1 million under FOODAC, and 3.2 million receiving free food – which enabled vulnerable households affected by drought and economic hardship to meet basic daily food needs.

Other developments included a resettlement package for up to half a million refugees and ongoing support to mine victims and other disabled and marginalized people.

A preliminary multi-agency needs assessment mission also took place in Kandahar resulting in the establishment of Planning and Implementation Cells in provincial government offices. These cells would develop long-term decentralized recovery strategies and investment plans to facilitate decentralization.

Overall, food pipeline shortages remained a significant issue, forcing a scaling back of ration sizes and reducing capacities to meet urgent needs. In addition, the volatile security situation in certain parts of the country hindered and in some cases prevented the distribution of food aid. Large-scale food security programming would be needed over the long-term to reduce the problems of persistent malnutrition and address severe vulnerability.

Natural Resources Management
The ministries in charge of this program area are: Agriculture; Water and Power; MRRD; and Irrigation and Environmental Affairs. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and NGO partners support them in their efforts.

As of mid-November 2002, FAO had contributed to the distribution of 3,700 tons of improved wheat seed and 7,000 tons of fertilizer to some half a million people, including returnees and IDPs, in all of the provinces of Afghanistan for the spring planting season, estimated to yield some 120,000 tonnes of wheat. In addition, 1,200 tonnes of animal feed and 3.5 million doses of vaccines were procured to improve animal health. Assistance was also provided toward the capacity building of government partners, including the development of an Early Agricultural Rehabilitation Strategy designed to meet immediate needs in agricultural sub-sectors.

The findings of the joint 2002 Crop and Food Supply Assessment Survey by the FAO and WFP indicated that agricultural production in Afghanistan improved by around 82 per cent in comparison to the previous year's drought-affected crop. Total cereal production was estimated at about 3.5 million tonnes. Nevertheless, the report emphasized that although the overall situation had improved, there would be pockets of low agricultural production due to limited or late rainfall, particularly in the south.

The survey stated that there were a large number of vulnerable people, including the pastoralist Kuchi nomads, IDPs, and returnees, as well as the urban and rural poor, who would continue to have little or no access to food due to serious erosion of their purchasing power and loss of productive assets, or both. Food availability and access would continue to be most problematic in chronically vulnerable areas such as the Central Highlands, Badakshan and Ghor provinces, and the southern provinces where the drought continues. According to the survey some 6 million people in Afghanistan would remain highly vulnerable to food insecurity and continue to need relief food assistance over the next year.

The FAO also conducted an extensive locust control campaign in eight northern and northwestern provinces, which were threatened by the highest locust infestation in 30 years. The campaign succeeded in keeping crop damage to a minimum. The FAO estimated crop losses in the three most seriously affected provinces – Baghlan, Samangan and Kunduz – at about seven percent.

In addition, 5,000 farmers were contracted during the autumn of 2001 for the multiplication of high quality, improved disease-resistant wheat seeds. Total production amounted to 250,000 tonnes of seed and grain. Continued support was also given to five veterinary service associations and vet field units in 255 districts. Up to 11 million livestock were vaccinated, along with 2.8 million de-wormed and 900,000 individually treated. Assistance was provided to farmers for cattle breeding, fodder crop production, integrated dairy development activities and poultry production activities, which involved 2,500 women.

The prolonged drought, which began in 1996, had a devastating effect on the underground water resources in 13 provinces bordering Pakistan, Iran and Turkmenistan. A coordinated effort took place with the support of UNICEF and national and international NGOs to provide new water sources and deepen dried-up wells for the affected population.

As adequate water and sanitation facilities are critical for settlement of IDPs and returnees, government authorities, UNICEF and NGOs supported some two million people by providing safe drinking water, including the installation of 12 sets of hand pumps and bore wells for approximately 3,600 people in the Shomali Plains; and the installation of water bladders as well as the provision of safe water to around 7,000 IDPs and returnees near Spin Boldak Town and the Chaman border to Pakistan. Collectively they also installed 174 bore wells, 500 latrines and 50 refuse bins for 53,000 people and trained 60 IDP women in camps on hygiene education as well as in the maintenance of hand pumps and latrines in the camps; constructed a piped-water supply system for 5,000 people in a new IDP camp at Mir Daud; and rehabilitated 300 latrines and 150 bathrooms for 5,000 people in Sakhi IDP camp in Mazar City.

Urban Management
The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing leads this program with the support of United Nations Human Settlement Program (HABITAT/UNCHS), assisted by the European Community, the World Bank, UNDP and NGOs.

The Afghan Government has declared urban reconstruction and renewal a main recovery priority area. During 2002, the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNHSP-UN Habitat) provided assistance for community development, public works and water/sanitation projects benefiting more than four million people in five principle cities.

UN agencies were actively involved in labor-intensive public works projects aimed at employment creation and rehabilitation of infrastructure. These projects included school and hospital repairs; cleaning of watercourses; road repair and the removal and recycling of rubble. Efforts of UN agencies also extended to capacity building in ministries and municipalities to facilitate development of a strategy for water and the environmental sanitation sector. In a related context, initial assessment of urban water supply systems in Kabul, Mazar, Herat, and Kandahar and rehabilitation projects were undertaken. Assistance was also provided for the collection and disposal and rehabilitation of solid waste, clearing and repairing drains in major urban centers as well as health awareness education.

Other projects include rebuilding communities in urban Afghanistan, support for essential municipal administration and the National Solidarity Program. The latter focuses on upgrading community forums; community empowerment; community based participatory development; planning at the grassroots level through shuras; and maximizing the effectiveness of community organizations that are in place at the district and village level.

Employment opportunities were provided to members of vulnerable women's groups in major urban centers. Employment skills were imparted to youth in trades such as masonry, carpentry, plumbing, tinsmiths, welding, tailoring, and calligraphy in several training centers in Kabul.

Health and Nutrition
The Ministry of Public Heath (MoPH) leads this program, supported by the Ministries of Agriculture, Rural Rehabilitation and Rural Development, as well as Urban Development and Housing. The World Health Organization (WHO) is the designated program Secretariat, assisted by UNICEF, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the NGO Medical Services for Health (MSH).

In the health sector, Afghanistan made tremendous efforts to eradicate polio despite the crisis that erupted in the last quarter of 2001. Eleven cases of polio were virologically confirmed in 2001 as compared to four cases by September 2002. In July 2002, over 1.3 million children were vaccinated in Polio Sub-National Immunization Days (NIDs) campaigns in Bamiyan province and the Southern and Eastern Regions. Polio campaigns were also synchronized with immunization efforts in Pakistan. The NIDs in April and May 2002 vaccinated more than 6 million children under 5 years. This was more than the targeted 5.8 million children and was mainly due to the inclusion of returnee children, active involvement of female vaccinators and the relatively stable security situation. For the first time in more than five years, women comprised a large proportion of the 2002 vaccination teams in all parts of the country. Additional NIDs took place in September and October 2002 and as of mid November, nine million children had been vaccinated against measles. It was estimated that this campaign would save the lives of some 35,000 children.

Maternal mortality in Afghanistan, estimated at between 820 and 1,700 deaths per 100,000 live births, is one of the highest in the world. To guide policies, the Ministry of Public Health, supported by UNICEF and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study on maternal mortality. The survey, which was released on 6 November concluded that Afghan women suffered from one of the highest levels of maternal mortality in the world, with almost half of all deaths among women age 15 to 49 coming as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said the surveys – the largest of their kind ever conducted in Afghanistan – revealed an "ongoing humanitarian tragedy for Afghan women and children, one that needs to be publicized and overcome."

UNICEF continued to support its NGO partners in providing supplementary and therapeutic feeding to around 300,000 malnourished children and pregnant and lactating women. World Breastfeeding Week, held 1-7 August 2002, was marked by a launch held by the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Women's Affairs. The week included sensitization meetings in different ministries, roundtable discussions of experts on TV and radio, training of master trainers, social mobilization in Mosques and public places, and public meetings.

In addition, basic health and emergency health kits were distributed around Afghanistan to cover the needs of a total 7.1 million people. Essential supplies were also distributed to 50 basic health centers, while 500 traditional birth attendance kits and 400 community health workers kits were given out in selected rural areas after training on their use.

The formulation of a national public health care policy and guidelines was completed under the guidance of health information centers through the provision of equipment, guidelines and training while salary support and incentives were provided to staff of the MOPH. The WHO and UNICEF also spearheaded an emergency response to the scurvy outbreak in Ghor Province, through the distribution of 260,000 Vitamin C tablets.

Access to health services for most of the population would continue to be limited, and the capacity of the system to provide minimum standard care threatened to weaken as the population increased through the return of refugees and IDPs.

Public Administration
The Ministries of Finance, Planning and the Interior, along with the MRRD, the Afghan Assistance Coordination Authority (AACA) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) are the Government bodies leading this program area. They are supported by the World Bank and UNDP.

The World Bank provided support to capacity development and policy advice via the establishment of aid coordination mechanisms and information systems, including the Donor Assistance Database (DAD) and computer based technology, mapping techniques, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skill development. In addition, civil servant salary payments were made, while support was given to the preparation of the National Development Plan. The bank also lent support to the training of Ministry staff to enable further streamlining and automation of finance.

The World Banks also administers the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), which provides support for the Afghan Operating Budget. (See Funding Fact Sheet).

Education and Vocational Training
The lead ministries for this program are the Ministries of Education and Higher Education as well as Labor and Social Welfare. They are supported by UNICEF and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and NGOs.

The Ministry of Education (MOE), with the support of UNICEF, NGOs and other groups, launched the Back-to-School (BTS) Campaign to rapidly provide learning opportunities in primary education to help 1.78 million children return to school by 23 March 2002. A joint assessment by both the MOE and UNICEF showed that the numbers of students, teachers and learning spaces far exceeded all expectations.

It was estimated that over 6,500 learning spaces were available, with nearly three million children enrolled in school. Nearly 48 per cent of children were enrolled in grade one, which brought to attention serious implications for the rehabilitation of the educational system. Girls made up 30 per cent of the total student population, and an initial comparison with the situation before March 2002 indicated that there had been an increase in girl's enrolment of nearly 90 per cent. In addition there were over 70,000 teachers, with women representing 28 per cent of the teaching body. Over 30,000 teachers received orientation in the use of new teaching materials.

There was ongoing installation of water and sanitation facilities in 1,000 schools and rehabilitation of 500 damaged schools. Some 4,000 schools, however, were still in need of repair. Continuing information and advocacy campaigns were carried out for returnees and IDPs at UNHCR encashment centers to raise awareness on issues of reintegration. Support to the University of Kabul was also provided for entrance examinations for 20,000 students and the establishment of campus Internet facilities. In addition, material and technical support was provided to the Ministry of Education.

The Ariana Women's Vocational Center was rehabilitated and completely refurbished with furniture and training equipment. This enabled hundreds of students to enroll into the center for skills and English language training.

Culture, Media and Sports
The Ministry of Information and Culture is the key Ministry in this sector, while UNESCO has been assigned as the Program Secretariat. In addition to UNAMA, there are a number of NGOs that support the media program.

Training was offered to a significant number of journalists, but mostly only in Kabul. NGOs involved in developing these activities, however, started to offer more training programs to Afghan journalist in the provinces. Training was also provided to support the Faculty of Journalism at Kabul University.

Early 2002 witnessed a significant proliferation of print media in the country. The depressed local consumer market conditions, however, would make it difficult for so many to be self-sustainable.
A national professional association of women journalists of more than 60 members was established, along with the provision of funds for the creation of a woman's publishing and training unit.

Although Radio and TV Afghanistan (RTA) received assistance pledges from a number of donors, concrete changes and significant improvements had yet to materialize. Nevertheless, some limited additional equipment, two new radio studios and programming support were available to RTA.

Bakhter Information Agency benefited from refurbishment and computerization, and training programs in English and Computer skills were offered to journalists.

As a means to facilitate coordination among the several actors that support this sector, UNAMA organized a series of meetings bringing together the Ministry of Information and Culture, donors, NGOs and the UN side, which become part of the work practice of the Program Secretariat for Culture, Media and Sports.

From 3-5 September, the Ministry of Information and Culture held an international seminar on promoting an independent and pluralistic media. The UN and a number of NGOs supported this initiative and a final declaration was unanimously adopted.

2003

During 2003, the Afghanistan UN Country Team (UNCT, comprising UNAMA, 17 UN agencies and the Bretton Woods Institutions present in Afghanistan) continued on the basis of work done in 2002 to respond to the situation created by Afghanistan’s transition from armed conflict and humanitarian crisis to peace-building and economic development.

The UN humanitarian agencies, particularly UNHCR and UNICEF, began to gradually adjust their programs to the need for medium-term developmental engagement through reduced assistance delivery and increased focus on development inputs. At the same time there was a noticeable increase of the program activities of the development agencies and multilateral institutions. A number of agencies concluded multi-year collaboration agreements with the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA). Key programs initiated in 2002 to rebuild the Afghan state were continued and strengthened. In comparison to 2002, the UNCT moved more steadily from direct implementation toward supporting nationally defined priorities through capacity building, as well as from addressing immediate symptoms to providing support to medium- and long-term state-building needs.

In 2003, Afghanistan’s UN Country Team supported and assisted transition witnessed several achievements. Most prominent among these were:

- the approval of a new, democratic Afghan constitution, which will provide the legal framework for
  rebuilding Afghanistan in the years ahead
- the rapid reactivation of the national primary education system, with over 4.2 million children
  returning to school (40 percent of whom are girls)
- the successful management of one of the largest UN-assisted repatriation programmes in history,
  with some 2.5 million refugees returning to Afghanistan.

The government’s primary health service package expanded to reach 40 percent of the population, though Afghanistan continues to suffer from among the worst indicators in the world in terms of infant and maternal mortality. Through successful National Immunization Days (NID) vaccination programmes, six million children were immunized against polio, resulting in its near eradication. Over 60 per cent of families were supported with food aid, especially the most vulnerable.

A National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) was jointly carried out in 2003 by various government ministries, WFP, UNICEF, FAO and the World Bank to measure the extent of poverty in Afghanistan, as well as to analyze the range of factors affecting the livelihoods of the Afghan people. A wealth of data was gathered to provide a sound basis for the planning of the Afghan Transitional Authority as well as for the UN Agencies. Furthermore, a combination of high agricultural output, a rise in public sector salaries, and an increase in demand for local construction and commercial services fueled rapid economic growth.

Implementation of the governmental national programmes, such as the National Area-based Development programme (NABDP), the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), and the National Emergency Employment Programme (NEEP) commenced and gained momentum, aiming at ensuring a more equitable distribution of assistance benefits to local communities, as well as facilitating capacity building and organizational reform in key ministries, such as the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). The Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (ARCSC) began working to strengthen the administrative and management capacities of the central government through the Priority Reform and Restructuring initiative, the institution of merit-based recruitment, as well as training and capacity-building of civil servants.

Through its programming in support of these achievements, the UNCT developed a strong partnership with its national counterparts in the Afghan Transitional government. The Consultative Group structure emerged as a primary forum for consensus-building on sectoral priorities, with the national budget-making process as a central policy instrument.

In addition, starting in late 2003, several UN Agencies and the Bretton Woods Institutions supported the Transitional Administration in the work on Securing Afghanistan’s Future. This study, which seeks to provide a comprehensive calculation of the cost of attaining defined recovery and reconstruction targets across all the sectors of the National Development Framework for the next 12 years, generated more active participation by relevant government institutions in the definition and achievement of national goals, as well as more effective use of resources at the central, provincial, and district levels. The twelve-year timeframe of SAF aligns the government’s development strategy with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

2003 also witnessed closer collaboration within the UN Country Teams through the establishment of a commitment for joint programming and common premises and services. The 18-hectare United Nations Operations Centre in Afghanistan (UNOCA) is a demonstration of this effort. Managed by an inter-Agency committee, UNOCA includes office and warehouse buildings, security infrastructure, food service, vehicle maintenance, and medical facilities, as well as a shared communication network and other utilities.

In 2003, as in the years beore, security proved one of the clearest challenges for the UN Country Team’s relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts, particularly in the south and southeast of the country. To better respond to the increased intensity of security incidents in the latter half of 2003, the Afghanistan Security Management Team (SMT) formed a small working group that engaged in more in-depth discussion and strategic thinking regarding UN security management, as well as provided constant follow-up to the decisions of the SMT. Nonetheless, the deterioration of security had a wide-ranging and often negative impact on the delivery of assistance, particularly of a humanitarian nature. UN Agencies have faced increasing difficulty in identifying implementing partners, including Afghan NGOs, which are able to safely operate in insecure areas. The burgeoning drug economy threatened to exacerbate insecurity by supporting local commanders and drug-lords in the regions. Poverty reduction and institutional strengthening of the law and order institutions of the state would be essential to counter the spread of illegal drugs.

The progress in Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction are encompassed in the table “Results of UN coordination 2003”.

2004

Berlin International Conference on Afghanistan – 31 march/ 1 April 2004
On 31 March – 1 April 2004, a donor Conference on Afghanistan took place in Berlin and raised USD 8.2 billion for Afghanistan’s recovery.

The Berlin Declaration adopted by the participants also provided a clear statement of vision for this remarkable partnership, proof of which was clearly offered by the very generous pledges that the Government received.

The $4.4 billion committed for the ongoing fiscal year was over 100 per cent of the amount that had been sought, and the $8.2 billion dollars committed for the next three years represented 69 per cent of the funds requested for that period by the Ministry of Finance. This generosity emphasized a level of continuing donor confidence in Afghanistan that was a credit to President Karzai’s leadership and his Government’s effective handling of the funds committed so far.

The Conference also approved a comprehensive Work Plan, annexed to the Declaration, providing a blueprint for international cooperation with the Afghan Government. The Work Plan, endorsed by the Afghan Cabinet, provided clear benchmarks and targets to be met across political, security and economic spheres over the coming months and years.

Also agreed in Berlin was a strong framework for regional cooperation in counter narcotics by Afghanistan and its neighbours. That agreement expressed the resolve of the region to combat the terrible threat that drugs trafficking poses to Afghanistan, its neighbours, and the world beyond.

In the margins of the inter-governmental Conference, two other important meetings were held. A meeting of Afghan civil society members provided a set of useful recommendations to the Afghan Government. Also, a donor meeting for the elections was held at which donors provided pledges of some $68 million against the needs of some $135 million for the Presidential and (subsequently postponed) Parliamentary elections to be held in September in Afghanistan and the refugee communities in Pakistan and Iran.

The Conference also highlighted the challenge of combating what the Secretary-General has called “the rising tide” of the drugs economy. The 2003 opium production in Afghanistan, estimated at 3,600 tonnes, or 80,000 hectares, represented a further increase above the already high 2002 figure that generated an income over half of Afghanistan’s national income.

In the Workplan annexed to the Berlin Declaration, the Government pledged to take a number of steps to help ensure freedom of expression and political organisation, a level playing field for political parties and their candidates, a neutral civil service and military, freedom of the press and equal access to it. At the request of the government of Afghanistan, UNAMA prepared, jointly with the Afghan Human Rights Commission, to monitor closely the implementation of political rights across the country in the hope that this would increase opportunities and incentives to achieve these benchmarks.

Among the challenges of 2004 would be would be redirecting larger shares of assistance away from concentrations in urban areas and investing more equitably throughout the country. Provincial and district administrations, critical to long-term national stability, continued to receive inadequate support relative to central institutions. This situation called for concerted training initiatives and the strengthening of systems to ensure timely salary and non-salary transfers from the capital.

Multi-sector efforts to reintegrate 2.3 million former refugees needed to be accelerated, in view of the large number of anticipated returns and the additional strains these would impose on national resources and capacities. Planning and service-delivery linkages required reinforcement among Afghanistan’s main social ministries, in particular health and education, singled out by the government as overriding priorities under the National Development Framework. The severely fragmented, project-based delivery system, furthermore, would need to be rationalized and basic standards for services delivered raised, while at the same expansion needed to be assessed in terms of recurring cost implications for the government, and where feasible, cost-recovery options explored.

See table “Results of UN coordination 2004” for more information.

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