1. The World Bank is the largest funder of the government’s National Solidarity Program. With a commitment of US$185 million in grant money, the Bank has joined hands with the government to mobilize communities, provide jobs and rebuild roads in rural areas throughout the country. The program is now active throughout the country; reaching over 8.5 million Afghans (around 45% of Afghanistan’s estimated 18.8 million rural inhabitants) where 10,593 communities had elected Community Development Councils, and over 16,000 projects have been financed, of which 4,500 project have been completed as of May 2006. After providing emergency work for some of the country’s poorest people, the project will have the secondary result of improving roads, and thus access to schools, healthcare and markets. Back to top 2. Afghanistan’s government offices were hooked up to the internet by the World Bank. The Ministries of Finance, Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Foreign Affairs, and Communications, as well as the President’s Office; ARDS and the Central Bank were all hooked up and given access to e-mail. These offices are also connected to the Kabul-based Global Development Learning Center, a facility with international videoconferencing and other multi-media capabilities also funded by the Bank. The majority of provincial capitals are now also able to videoconference with the President and Ministers in Kabul. The new technology is giving government officials direct, immediate access to global information for the first time in Afghanistan’s history. Back to top 3. The World Bank is working to ensure public money is spent efficiently and honestly. Corruption and waste are some of the most formidable obstacles to development. The World Bank is providing international expertise to help the Government of Afghanistan develop its systems of procurement of goods and services, financial management, and auditing. Under the project, the government is establishing standard systems for public payrolls and the reporting of expenditures. A computerized check issuance system, coordinated with the Treasury Department in the Ministry of Finance, wend on-line in October 2002. A new procurement law has been enacted and related regulations and bidding documents have also been prepared. Back to top 4. Some of Afghanistan’s poorest people are receiving loans with help from the World Bank. The first microfinance bank in Afghanistan was established with grant money from the World Bank. Microfinance is the provision of loans, savings and other basic financial services to poor people who are usually shut out from larger-scale banking because they are considered too risky. With funding from Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) a Microfinance and Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan, or MISFA was established. The facility is the first of its kind in the world, funneling various donor funds into one coordinated source of assistance. The facility has already financed small loans for around 119,000 clients in 120 districts, 17 provinces. Eighty-five percent of the clients are women and the repayment rate is approximately 99%. Back to top 5. The World Bank is one of the largest emergency job providers in Afghanistan. Besides being the main contributor to the government’s National Solidarity Program, the Bank also supports other public works programs, including road, building and irrigation works repair, recycling of rubble, recovery of useable building material, reconstruction of schools and clinics and the revitalization of urban parks. Such programs have significantly contributed to the physical rehabilitation of the country, and have provided around 8.8 million person days of employment through cash-for-work programs. Back to top 6. Educators throughout Afghanistan can now communicate via radios provided by the World Bank. Fast access to information will play a critical role in the rehabilitation and advancement of the country’s education system. The Bank has provided high frequency radio communication equipment to each of Afghanistan’s 32 provincial education offices to improve their school monitoring activities and strengthen communications with the Ministry of Education in Kabul. The Bank is also supporting the Ministry’s efforts to improve its management capabilities and design new education policies for the country Back to top 7. The World Bank has led efforts to ensure the government is in the driver’s seat. Immediately following civil conflict, it is essential for development partners to quickly provide food, shelter and jobs. However as a country moves into longer term reconstruction, success depends on the ability of its own leaders to lead the development process. The Bank has been an active advocate of channeling donor resources through the government of Afghanistan to ensure that they support national priorities and build the capacity and legitimacy of the state. The Bank is the administrator of the multilaterally supported Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund which is helping to cover government costs, including salaries of public workers, and finance the government’s priority projects. Back to top 8. The World Bank relies on Afghan expertise. Part of the Bank’s strength is the global experience it brings to every country in which it works. However when it comes to local projects, local expertise is indispensable. The World Bank office in Kabul has around 29 professional staff members, of which around 13 are Afghan nationals who specialize in areas such as education, health, financial management, resource management, social environment, information technology and communications. The Bank also works closely with the Afghan government, civil society and communities in designing its support for the country. Most importantly, the World Bank’s overall assistance to the country is specifically designed to support the goals outlined in the Government’s Interim National Development Strategy. Back to top 9. Helping Afghan women is a top priority in the Bank’s work. During the conflict years, the Bank closely monitored the situation of women and was prepared to make them a key focus of its work when it reopened its office in Kabul in 2002. Bank-supported projects are now providing women with jobs on public works and helping them obtain small loans. The Bank has increased support for training female teachers and is helping to rehabilitate primary schools and encourage enrollment of girls. One project has hired female health hygiene workers to mobilize families to keep Kabul clean while another is working to increase women’s access to health care. A group of female students at Kabul University were assisted by the grant to establish an internet café in April 2005. The café is completely run by female students and is financially self sufficient. The female internet café has so far trained 300 university students in basic computer programs. Back to top 10. The World Bank kept a hopeful watch during Afghanistan's conflict years. Although the Bank’s operations were suspended and its Kabul office closed after the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Bank continued to engage with the Afghan people. In partnership with other donors such as the United Nations, the Bank helped provide training for women to work as teachers and professionals and assisted refugees outside the country. It also monitored and studied the political, economic and humanitarian situation, producing what is known as a "Watching Brief" in preparation for future reconstruction work -— work it is now undertaking since it resumed official operations in Afghanistan in 2002. Back to top |
RSS