PEACE & SECURITY | Creating a more stable world
09 June 2008
Paris Conference to Showcase Afghanistan’s Progress
U.S. gives more than $26 billion since 2001 to spur security, opportunity
Washington -- An international conference will showcase Afghanistan’s achievements since 2001 and chart its course toward greater peace and prosperity.
Representatives from more than 80 nations, international institutions and nongovernmental organizations will meet in Paris June 12 for the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai will present the Afghanistan National Development Strategy -- a detailed study of Afghanistan’s continuing development assistance needs from the international community for the next five years.
“Real progress has been made with regard to infrastructures, health, education, economic development and more. But for the Afghan people who have suffered so much in recent decades, the efforts are not nearly enough,” says the conference Web site, hosted by France’s foreign ministry. “It is therefore essential for these fragile achievements to be reinforced so that Afghanistan can escape the downward spiral of poverty and violence for good.”
Before leaving for Europe June 9, President Bush said, "Afghanistan is also difficult because of a new democracy emerging from the shadows of a brutal regime. Last year, of course, the Taliban announced they were going to go on the offense; in fact, our coalition went on the offense and, from a security perspective, made some progress against the Taliban."
Since a U.S.-led coalition routed the Taliban regime and its al-Qaida allies in 2001, America’s priority has been to help Afghan leaders deliver security, essential services and economic opportunity to their citizens, says Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher. “The enormity, the development task even absent the insurgency has been difficult, and it’s a long-term proposition and there is a long-term commitment from the United States,” says Boucher.
From 2001 to 2007, the United States contributed more than $26 billion as part of its long-term pledge to help Afghanistan emerge from decades of war and oppression. But the challenges ahead remain daunting for Afghanistan, which ranked among the world’s poorest nations even before descending into conflict following the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union.
SECURITY SETS STAGE FOR RECONSTRUCTION
Security remains essential to future development and has been the leading U.S. aid expenditure in Afghanistan.
In addition to its leading role in the 39-nation, NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) and a parallel multinational force dedicated to counterterrorism operations, Washington has delivered $17.2 billion in security assistance programs to train more than 140,000 Afghan soldiers and police officers to safeguard their nation by confronting crime, extremism and narcotics.
Improving security in most of the country has set the stage for reconstruction. New roads, electricity, education and agricultural development are making a difference in the everyday lives of the Afghan people. (See “Provincial Reconstruction Teams Reconnecting Afghanistan.”)
Seven years ago, 25 million Afghans lived in poverty and the country had less than 50 kilometers of paved roads. Today, more than 13,150 kilometers of paved roads have been built or rehabilitated, allowing goods to travel to markets and providing access to essential services such as health care, now available to 85 percent of the population, compared to only 9 percent in 2004, according to the latest Afghan government figures.
Since 2001, the United States has contributed $7.7 billion toward thousands of development and infrastructure projects, including the nearly completed Afghan Ring Road and the $38 million Pyanj River Bridge, the rebuilding or renovation of more than 650 schools, and a host of other initiatives to revitalize farms, businesses and communities. And 32,000 villages have benefited from rural development projects, including programs to deliver clean water and repair and rebuild irrigation systems.
Additional land has been opened up for farming and development through U.S.-funded efforts to remove 7 million land mines and unexploded ordnance from more than 3,000 villages in 246 districts. More than 50,000 Afghans belonging to 285 militias have been disarmed and reintegrated into Afghan society.
Another legacy of war was a shattered educational system, with nearly half of adult Afghans unable to read or write. More than 3,500 new schools have been built since 2001, with enrollment skyrocketing from 1 million to 5.7 million students, including 2.6 million Afghan girls, previously barred from schools by the Taliban.
Since 2001, the United States has provided the Afghan government with more than $1 billon to train a new generation of local, provincial and national leaders as they pursue essential political and legal reforms to move their country forward.
In 2008, Boucher said, the United States will dedicate $500 million to enhance Afghan governance capacity building, along with additional funds through joint civilian-military provincial reconstruction teams. Approximately $91 million more will go into expanding Afghanistan’s court system. By strengthening the rule of law, these programs will help Afghans confront corruption and continue building democratic institutions.
“We've found that if we provide good governance in places, we see development, we see security,” Boucher said. “Good governance, and the benefits of governance, is what really make the difference in Afghanistan.”
For more on the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan, see the French foreign ministry’s Web site. The site hosts the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, a 288-page PDF file.
