Development Assistance
Since 2001 the UK has committed over £1079 million to Afghanistan. £500 million has been pledged in development assistance over 2002-2007, with the UK being the largest bilateral donor to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. In addition, the UK has spent over £338 million in military support to Afghanistan, over £67 million on security sector reform, and over £20 million to support elections.
At the London Conference on Afghanistan (31 January – 1 February 2006) the Prime Minister announced the UK's intention to spend a further £500 million (US$885 million) over the next three years in support of Afghanistan's reconstruction.
Development Assistance
At the international donor conference in Tokyo in January 2002, we announced that we would provide £200 million over five years, ie until 2007, for reconstruction and development assistance in Afghanistan. In April 2004, at a further donor conference in Berlin, the UK increased its pledge by £300 million so that at least £500 million would be spent over the same period to 2007, providing long-term bilateral support on counter-narcotics, reconstruction, pro-poor initiatives and humanitarian assistance programmes. In addition to this money we are providing logistical and technical support and personnel (secondees and advisers). The UK also provides significant levels of multilateral assistance through contributions to the UN, European Commission (19% of €1billion over five years) and international development banks. The majority of the funds will be used to support continuing humanitarian and reconstruction activities.
More information can be found on the Department for International Development website.
Security Assistance
Since 2002 the UK has provided over £67 million to support Security Sector Reform in Afghanistan. We are working with the Afghan Government and international partners to help establish accountable security institutions. Assistance has included £10 million to support the development of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and over £4 million to support the Afghan National Police force (ANP). We have committed £6.7 million over three years since 2002 to develop and support the Office of the National Security Council (ONSC) headed by President Karzai's National Security Advisor. To date 26,900 ANA soldiers and 30,000 ANP personnel have been recruited, trained, and equipped.
A stable Afghanistan? Jobs Matter!
With around 40% of its workforce jobless, it's small wonder that half of Afghans questioned in an ABC/BBC Survey identify the state of the economy and lack of jobs as major concerns. More than that: unemployment impacts heavily on Afghans' confidence in the state and their opinion of the ability of government to help deliver permanent jobs.
The Department for International Development's (DFID) new Supporting Employment and Enterprise Development (SEED) programme aims to test proven approaches alongside new initiatives in an Afghan context. In doing so, this £36m four-year programme will create 20,000 permanent jobs and help 200,000 Afghans increase real incomes by at least 10%.
For example, drawing on DFID-funded successes inside Afghanistan - microfinance initiatives helping to create jobs - and outside - challenge fund models that in Malawi boosted the incomes of 250,000 farmers - SEED prioritises working directly with business to improve their ability to invest and compete. As part of more than £300m of UK investment in growth and livelihoods programmes, it will be complemented by the £28m Helmand Growth Programme, which aims to strengthen the economy in one of the country's most troubled provinces, and the £30m Harakat, the Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility that works to cut red tape and reform restrictive regulations.
With a majority of young male Afghans facing daily hardship (unemployment rises to 65% among young people), the insurgency provides an easy escape: news reports tell of young men joining the Taliban to earn enough money to start their own business. Of Afghans who say they agree with poppy farming, over half cite the fact that it provides jobs, or more profitable ones, as a justification. For SEED, therefore, creating permanent employment will be a key ingredient in achieving reintegration and realising the UK's counter-narcotics ambitions.
With around 40% of its workforce jobless, it's small wonder that half of Afghans questioned in an ABC/BBC Survey identify the state of the economy and lack of jobs as major concerns. More than that: unemployment impacts heavily on Afghans' confidence in the state and their opinion of the ability of government to help deliver permanent jobs.
DFID's new Supporting Employment and Enterprise Development (SEED) programme aims to test proven approaches alongside new initiatives in an Afghan context. In Links:
