Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 9 of 10 BACK | NEXT Challenges of rebuilding From postconflict to reconstruction Role of MDBs ADB’s approach and comparative advantage Afghanistan and ADB: a partnership renewed Postconflict rebuilding From postconflict: preconditions for reconstruction Toward reconstruction: financing the transition Towrd development: setting the stage The way forward: lessons from postconflict reconstruction

Rehabilitation and Reconstruction - ADB's Role in Afghanistan and the Region

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Toward development: setting the stage

Building capacity

Afghanistan suffers from a serious capacity gap that hinders governance and economic management. ADB responded to the Government’s request for rapid provision of grant assistance for capacity-building and quick-impact projects by extending $15.1 million in technical assistance and mobilizing $22 million in bilateral grants to finance three innovative pilot projects in transport, education, and health in 2002.

A technical assistance cluster of $14.6 million will provide long- and short-term advisors, equipment and supplies, repair and maintenance of offices, and training opportunities to ADB counterpart agencies in the transport, energy, education, health, agriculture, and financial sectors. Substantial progress is evident in strengthening the capacity of key government and civil society institutions to support the country’s rehabilitation and reconstruction. Sector reviews are under way and sector plans are being prepared. Training programs are being implemented and visits abroad are being organized. Policy, institutional, and investment options are also being analyzed and evaluated. A supervisory and regulatory framework is being developed and options for privatization of public services and private sector development are being explored and promoted. The technical assistance also supports basic steps toward creating a foundation for transparent, well-functioning public administration and finance. A second technical assistance of $500,000 is helping the Office of Disaster Preparedness improve readiness and management efforts during calamities.

Two thirds of the Postconflict Multisector Program loan was disbursed rapidly, but implementation of pilot projects and technical assistance grants has been slowed by procedural delays, security issues, and administrative and implementation capacity. ADB is working with the Government to overcome these hurdles. To build local capacity, for example, consulting services contracts should include provisions for engaging local staff to work with experts. Emphasis should be on providing management support during project implementation. Guidelines for procurement should be flexibly applied to expedite procurement of equipment and services.

Recent advances in information and other technologies provide Afghanistan with an opportunity to advance in these areas. The relative proliferation of information technology, Internet cafes, computerization, and mobile phones in Kabul and other parts of the country testifies to the usefulness of these new technologies. ADB supports computerization in Afghanistan under its technical assistance grants.

Conflict prevention

The transition from reconstruction to development can be undone by renewed conflict. The risks of renewed conflict can be minimized through growth and poverty reduction. Poverty is endemic in Afghanistan. A large proportion of the population lived below any acceptable poverty line prior to the outbreak of civil conflict. The conflict has left them poorer and has forced even more people into poverty. A preliminary ADB estimate suggests about 53% of the population live below the poverty line of $102 in annual per capita income. Clearly, a much higher percentage live below the $1-a-day poverty line. All donor projects, including those financed by ADB, are aimed at addressing the specific problems of these vulnerable groups through rehabilitation, production, employment, and income-generation support.

It is important to address social issues as well. ADB worked with its development partners to conduct an analysis of social sectors and identify areas where assistance would be most helpful. Basic health, nutrition, and reproductive health of the rural poor have improved through an innovative partnership of the Government, NGOs, and communities in developing sustainable community-based health care (see Box on page 23). In the education sector, ADB supports a sustainable and comprehensive approach to community-based, gender-sensitive basic education (see Box on page 30). The long-term goal is to reduce poverty by equipping the young people of Afghanistan, particularly girls, with education that stimulates their self-help capacities for overcoming poverty (see Box on page 21).

To reduce the risks of renewed conflict, the Government must address the situation of displaced populations and former combatants. Both settled and displaced populations have been provided relief. The rehabilitation of refugees is moving slowly, but significant progress has been made. All programs and projects supported by development partners must, on a priority basis, provide for full integration of the displaced population into the rehabilitation process, preferably in their places of origin. It is not enough to create temporary employment for the unemployed or destitute. Conditions need to be created to generate longer-term employment and income generation in productive pursuits.

Looking ahead

ADB completed its country strategy and program update for Afghanistan in April 2002. In 2003–2005, an appropriate mix of modalities of assistance could be developed, taking into account the evolving situation in Afghanistan and the Government’s desire to achieve a balance between project and program assistance. Drawing from the NDF and NDB, ADB assumes it will need to meet requirements of $600 million in concessional assistance and $58 million in grant assistance over the period. Detailed programming is being worked out in consultation with the Government.

In 2003, if approved, ADB could build on the progress made in policy and institutional reforms under the Postconflict Multisector Program loan to support an Emergency Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project (EIRRP). The validity of this sequence of actions was proven in ADB’s operations in postconflict Tajikistan. The main objective of the EIRRP would be to help the Government rehabilitate and reconstruct key infrastructure in the transport and energy sectors. The Project would contribute to reviving economic activities across the country, thereby providing employment and reducing poverty, and would maximize the use of local labor and provide equal opportunity to women. Other EIRRP objectives would include the promotion of peace and security, social integration and stability, regional cooperation and integration, natural resource development and conservation, and private sector development.

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