Managing for Development Results at ADB

Results Matter December 2007

Improving Aid Effectiveness through MfDR in Afghanistan
By Farid Tanai, Aid Coordination Officer, Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan

Afghanistan has adopted the UN Millennium Development Goals and localized it into a national strategy, the Interim-Afghanistan National Development Strategy (I-ANDS). The Government is currently working to develop the full Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). This strategy consists of eight sectors: security, governance, rule of law and human rights, infrastructure and natural resources, education, health, agriculture and rural development, social protection, and economic governance and private sector development. The strategy also addresses crosscutting issues such as gender equity, counter narcotics, regional cooperation, anticorruption, and environment.

An Aid Effectiveness Working Group has been established to conduct high-level meetings for dialogue between the Government and development partners, focused mainly on indicators in the Paris Declaration and the Afghanistan Compact, pertaining to aid management, coordination, mobilization and effectiveness. This is chaired by the Minister of Finance.

The Government’s Aid Coordination Unit handles relations with development partners. One of its major areas of responsibility is monitoring the progress of Paris Declaration and Annex II of the Afghanistan Compact. The Aid Coordination Unit has conducted the first round of the Paris Declaration survey focusing on official development assistance spending. A separate survey has also been conducted on the local economic impact of aid to Afghanistan. The Unit is now planning to conduct the second round of the Paris Declaration survey, as well as a follow up survey of the local economic impact of aid to Afghanistan.

To avoid uncoordinated activities, the Government of Afghanistan should be in the driver’s seat and lead its development agenda—the ANDS. All development partners are invited to align their activities with this. However, with a staff of one manager, seven officers, and one advisor, the Aid Coordination Unit has difficulties coordinating the aid provided by 47 development partners. At the moment, most development partners’ reports are still not aligned with the Government’s reporting requirements.This is a major challenge in implementing MfDR in aid effectiveness on the ground.

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