USAID/OTI Afghanistan Field Report
January / February 2002
Program Description
USAID/OTI's program goal is to support the process of recovery, rehabilitation and political development in post-conflict Afghanistan. Working with a number of local and international partners, OTI has begun a program to build citizen confidence in the progress of political development, empower citizens to address basic community needs, and build an alliance between legitimate government structures and citizens. OTI's estimated budget for FY2002 is $16,500,000.
Country Situation
Despite the continuing humanitarian crisis, a sense of hope has returned to Afghanistan's citizens following the retreat of the Taliban in November 2001. The international community, through the UN's Special Mission for Afghanistan (UNSMA), acted quickly to fill the power vacuum and help map out a transition to democratic rule. During intensive talks in Bonn in December, Afghanistan's four main political groups, the Northern Alliance, the Pakistan-based Peshawar Front, the Iran-backed Cyprus Group, and the Rome Process representing former King Zahir Shah, signed a phased agreement (The Bonn Agreement) to establish a transitional government. Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai was appointed head of an interim power-sharing council that consists of twenty-eight ministries. Additional provisions include an international peacekeeping force to stabilize the capital city Kabul and the establishment of a commission tasked with convening a Loya Jirga in order to address Afghanistan's political process and future.
The Loya Jirga (or Grand Council) is a forum unique to Afghanistan in which representatives from each of the ethnic groups gather to settle national affairs. This Loya Jirga will be the first to include women, and the Bonn process requires it to convene in June 2002. During the following 18 months a new constitution will be drafted and national elections will be held to determine Afghanistan's political future. The Loya Jirga is being planned in the backdrop of serious humanitarian needs, a severe drought, rampant warlordism, severe ethnic strains in the cabinet of the interim government, and a continued ground offensive in the war on terror.
As of February, some 4,500 peacekeeping forces representing a number of nations had arrived in Kabul under the UN-mandated International Security Force (ISAF). The peacekeepers are patrolling the capital and working on visible municipal improvements to bring a sense of stability and calm. To date, however, despite Afghan requests, the peacekeepers have not been deployed beyond Kabul, leaving other parts of the country potentially vulnerable to continued instability in the form of human rights abuses and sporadic fighting despite the fall of the Taliban. In addition, the killing of the interim government's Tourism and Aviation Minister in February is a stark reminder that despite the sense of hope in the people of Afghanistan and the international community, Afghanistan's political future is at best tenuous.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
Due to the complex operating environment, OTI has focused its efforts on enhancing the capacity of the interim government to address immediate reconstruction and stabilization needs.
OTI signed eight small grants in the reporting period, as follows:
- Rehabilitation of Ministry of Women's Affairs, rubble removal from the Ministry's auditorium.
- Rehabilitation of Ministry of Women's Affairs, renovation of 11 rooms within the Ministry, office equipment and staffing support.
- Drilling equipment for Ministry of Irrigation to increase number of public wells and water supply for irrigation projects in drought stricken areas.
- Rehabilitation of Women's Training Center 'Ariana' to serve 1,800 beneficiaries (women and children) with educational and vocational training courses.
- Rehabilitation of Media Resource Center, run by a French-based NGO (AINA) that will serve as a media production facility, training site, and cultural center.
- Rehabilitation of Journalist Training Center for Radio Television Afghanistan. This building will provide a training platform for journalists in both radio and television.
- Assistance to Talaqan (northwestern Afghanistan) Disabled Association to set up offices and facilities for training members in cobblery, blacksmithing, sewing, knitting, and carpentry with the goal of improving their general standard of living and integration into communities.
- Rehabilitation of the Kandahar Hospital to restore services of the recovery ward at the primary health facility in Kandahar province.
In addition to these small grants, OTI signed a grant with Internews for approximately $1,000,000. With OTI support, Internews will begin a nine-month transitional media development program with three components: 1) Hands-on broadcast journalism training; 2) Equipment upgrades and technical support for radio stations; and 3) Media advocacy for policy and regulatory development. Internews will also provide specialized training to the Afghan Media Resource Center in Peshawar, Pakistan, and provide journalist training on approaches to covering the Loya Jirga.
B. Grants Activity Summary
| Media |
12 |
$1,844,460 |
| Good Governance |
4 |
$581,040 |
| Civil Society |
7 |
$172,612 |
| Community Infrastructure |
1 |
$20,000 |
| Total |
24 |
$2,618,112 |
C. Indicators of Success
Despite heightened security concerns, OTI has shifted its operations from Islamabad to Kabul and funded a number of visible, high impact projects identified as priorities by the interim government and local communities within and beyond Kabul. Also, OTI has expanded its budget and operational capacity in order to further support the efforts of Afghanistan's growing civil-society sector to foster democratic and good governance initiatives.
As OTI phases out its initial projects under IOM's Afghan Emergency Information Project (AEIP), key outputs include:
- 30,000 radios distributed for Afghan IDPs and refugees
- Production and broadcast of a daily humanitarian bulletin in Dari and Pashto
- Enhanced capacity for Voice of America to cover and broadcast local news and information in Dari and Pashto
NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES
OTI is working on two new implementing mechanisms: a SWIFT contract that will put in place a broad operational platform for the entire USAID effort in Afghanistan and a cooperative agreement with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) that will provide funding for community identified, small scale reconstruction work in a number of key areas provinces across Afghanistan.
|
