News and Events

Signing Ceremony for Community Project in Northern Afghanistan

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (22 March 2004) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Afghan Government today signed a Letter of Agreement in Kabul for a project for Integrated Community Development in Northern Afghanistan.

Funded by a US$3 million grant from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, financed by the Government of Japan, the project will harness community participation to help improve the living standards of poor villagers in northern Afghanistan.

The agreement was signed by Afghan Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Haneef Atmar and Country Director of ADB's Afghanistan Resident Mission V.N. Gnanathurai. Ambassador Komano, Embassy of Japan, Afghanistan, attended the ceremony.

The project aims to give communities the chance to participate in the processes that affect their livelihoods, develop key infrastructure, promote natural resource management, and provide access to credit and business advice to help create micro enterprises.

As access to safe drinking water is the most urgent need facing most communities, requests for deep wells and piped water schemes are expected to be high priority. Other infrastructure priorities are expected to be the repair of irrigation schemes and link roads. The project also aims to improve the nutritional intake of communities and assist with improved horticulture and forestry practices.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of Y10 billion (about US$90 million), followed by additional contributions of $155 million and a commitment of $50 million.