Afghanistan: CAFOD welcomes government aid

Afghan worker unloads a sack of flour at a market in Kabul September 21, 2008 [REUTERS/Omar Sobhani, courtesy www.alertnet.org]

CAFOD welcomes the increase in government funding for Afghanistan, but says that ordinary people must be at the heart of the work to make a real difference

We believe that the 40 per cent increase in aid to Afghanistan announced by the Department for International Development (DfID) could support vital development work. But to have a lasting impact, the people it aims to help must be placed at the heart of the development process.

We have been working through our partners in Afghanistan since the late 1980s, supporting a range of relief, rehabilitation and development projects.

We are currently working with Catholic Relief Services, providing support to vulnerable communities affected by the food price crisis and the ongoing impact of drought in some of the country’s poorest provinces.

Sophie Arcedeckne-Butler, our programme manager for Afghanistan says: “Afghanistan is the second least developed country in the world according to the Human Development Index, and poverty levels are extremely high across the country.

“It’s therefore vital that this extra £200 million pounds of aid reaches the most vulnerable, and is not focused only in areas of British military priority to support the UK Government’s security and stabilization agenda.

“We endorse DfID’s efforts to assist the Afghan Government in reducing corruption, and would like to see more emphasis on ensuring that local communities and civil society organisations are involved in the development process. Our experience shows that empowering local communities to monitor the work that’s taking place and hold people to account is a very effective way to help reduce corruption.”

CAFOD welcomes DfID’s emphasis on the need for greater transparency and accountability. But we also urge DfID to demonstrate this in the way it allocates its aid budget, as well as how it monitors expenditure in Afghanistan.

Read Zia Gul's story from Afghanistan >>

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