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USAID/OTI Afghanistan Field Report

December 2004

Program Description

USAID/OTI is increasing citizen awareness of and confidence in the process of recovery, rehabilitation and democratic political development in post-conflict Afghanistan. This is being accomplished by: increasing the Afghan government’s responsiveness to citizens’ needs; increasing citizen awareness of and participation in democratic processes; and, increasing the capacity of the Afghan media.

OTI’s rapid support for activities in Afghanistan’s transition period is helping to establish credibility and space for longer-term development assistance. Working with central and provincial governments, national and international NGOs, informal community groups and media outlets, OTI identifies and supports critical initiatives that facilitate implementation of the Bonn Agreement, which was designed to move the country further along the continuum from war to peace.

The OTI/Afghanistan program started in October 2001 and is scheduled to end in June 2005 and OTI is working closely with implementing partners and technical staff from OTI/Washington to ensure an effective close-out and handover of key activities and functions to the Mission, other donors and/or local partners. OTI/Afghanistan’s funds have come from various sources, including Transition Initiative Funds (TI), International Disaster Assistance Funds (IDA), Development Assistance Funds (DA) and State Department Economic Support Funds (ESF). Projects are funded in 34 provinces of the country. OTI’s current implementing partners are the International Organization for Migration-Afghanistan Transition Initiative (IOM-ATI) and Internews. IOM-ATI offices are located in Kabul, Bamyan, Gardez, Herat, Kandahar, Kunduz, Maimana and Mazar. Previous USAID/OTI partners included the Voice of America (VOA), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Ronco.

Country Situation

Hamid Karzai Announces his Cabinet after Inaugural Celebrations – On December 7, Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first-ever democratically elected President with Afghan representatives from every province joining foreign dignitaries for the celebrations. The U.S. delegation was led by Vice President Cheney and also included Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld.

After considerable speculation, President Karzai announced his cabinet on December 23 with three women included among the 25 members. The cabinet is representative of both small and large ethnic groups, with five the most important ministries going to Pashtuns, the nation’s largest ethnic group. Several ministries were merged, while some new ones were created in an attempt to better meet the challenges facing the government. In line with President Karzai’s goal to create a merit-based cabinet of professionals, nine of the ministers hold Ph.D degrees and several have held senior positions in international organizations prior to their appointments. The cabinet has been well received by Afghans and the international community alike, as Karzai seems to have heeded the call to sideline warlords.

Increased Threats against Internationals Working on Reconstruction – While the total number of security incidents did not increase this month, there were increased threats against international contractors and aid workers. In two incidents, international contractors working under USAID contracts were abducted en route from their work sites in southern Afghanistan. The contractors in Helmand Province were abducted, held and later released, while the contractor abducted in Jalalabad was killed. International staff working for USAID/OTI’s implementing partner in Paktia Province, just south of Kabul Province, received death threats via mobile phones.

USAID/OTI Highlights

A. Narrative Summary

USAID/OTI Supports Community- based Water Management in Rural Afghanistan – Access to water, particularly clean drinking water, is a challenge in almost every community in Afghanistan and disputes over water access have often been exacerbated by ethnic differences. In order to expand access to water and mitigate conflict over the resources, OTI is working in cooperation with the municipalities in several rural towns to establish community-based equitable water management systems.

Child collecting water in Khanabad Rive, Kunduz Province in northeastern Afghanistan.

In the city of Khanabad in the northeastern province of Kunduz, residents, primarily women and children, collect water from the River of Khanabad. The poor quality of the water poses health problems, and the logistics of water collection creates flashpoints for conflict as routes and access points become congested with jerry cans, mules and carts for carrying the water. To address the problem, USAID is funding the construction of a water delivery system through the Quick Impact Projects (QIP) program, while USAID/OTI is supporting the establishment of management systems at the community and municipal levels. As a result of this collaborative project, 15,000 residents will have access to clean drinking water year round.

OTI’s work involves the election of local community members to a water management board situated in the municipality. The close cooperation between the community members and the representatives from the municipality in this particular project is not only strengthening the relationship between local government officials and the communities but is also garnering the communities’ confidence in the new Afghan government. The project is also providing an opportunity for different ethnic groups to collaborate on a solution to a shared challenge. As one of the local community elders explained the importance of this project: “We are very happy about this project, not only because it gives our children clean drinking water, but also because our relationship with the municipality and other communities has become much closer. The system of having elected community members in the municipality is not only used to solve problems regarding the water system, but also to solve other community related problems.”

USAID/OTI Supported Radio Stations – Since 2002, OTI has supported the establishment of 31 independent FM radio stations operating within two independent satellite networks and plans are being made for another ten stations to be established by spring 2005. In December, OTI’s implementing partner, Internews, identified a suitable local partner organization for the planned radio station in hard-to-reach southeastern Paktika Province. The governor of Paktika specifically requested USAID assistance in establishing an independent radio station in the provincial capital, Sharan, as the city has access to very few other media outlets. During the reporting period, a site has been identified, negotiations are underway with the local partner organization and OTI is coordinating with colleagues at the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the area to leverage their construction resources.

USAID/OTI supported Journalism Training Expands into South and Southeast – During the reporting period, USAID/OTI’s media partner, Sayara, opened a media training center at Jalalabad University in Nangarhar Province, which is equipped with six computers with internet access and offers a wide range of practical courses. The media center will complement and expand the limited courses currently offered by the University’s Literature Department and will link up Jalalabad University’s journalism students with a nation-wide network of other journalism students. In addition, the Jalalabad University community will have access to journalism and computer training, will be able to exchange information and academic material with universities in other parts of Afghanistan and will be able to access research institutions around the world.

The newest media center in Jalalabad is part of the OTI-funded Novice Journalism Training Program (NJTP) implemented by Sayara. The NJTP is a two year project that provides practical journalism training to Afghan university students and links them with 300 fellow journalism colleagues and students in Herat, Mazar, Kabul, and most recently Khost and Kandahar. "It is important to develop a sense of national unity with the new generation. It will be interesting to see students from Jalalabad working together with fellow students from Mazar and Herat", adds Naqibullah, Sayara supervisor of the NJTP in Jalalabad.

The Election through Afghan Eyes – an USAID/OTI-supported Exhibit of Afghan Photojournalists –

Above is the lead photo from the exhibit, taken by an AINA photojournalist.

Following the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai, OTI media partner, Aina, produced a photography exhibit of Afghan photojournalists entitled “The Election through Afghan Eyes.” The exhibit included 35 images taken by eight male and female photojournalists over the last year and opened simultaneously in eight Afghan cities. The images depict the process, the voters and election officials involved and the pride that Afghans felt in participating in the historical election. The final images, selected from hundreds, will be published in a book.

OTI’s Country Representative and Sector Specialist for Media opened the exhibit. Representatives from other USAID and U.S. Embassy offices, Coalition Forces and ISAF as well as the Joint Electoral Management Body of the United Nations attended the event. The exhibit continued for one week and has been a tremendous success as measured by initial feedback and attendance in the provinces and Kabul. There are plans to host the exhibit at the U.S. Embassy/Kabul in January and discussions are underway for a potential exhibit in Washington, DC.

B. Grant Activity Summary

OTI/Afghanistan summary of cleared and completed activities in December and since program start-up:

Grant	Activity	Beneficiaries
National
IOMAFG148	Purchase and delivery of infrared translation headsets (national)	250 dignitaries and representatives attending the inauguration and counter narcotics jirga.
IOMAFG153 & 154	Support for independent Afghan news agency (national)	80 employees of Pajhwok News. Indirect beneficiaries include media consumers in the general public.
IOMGDZ072	Construction of weir intake and retaining wall in Drek Mandokhel Village, Khost	800 families
IOMGDZ073	Construction of retaining wall in Sodak Village, Khost Province	400 families
IOMGDZ074	Construction of retaining wall in Sahra-Khulbisath village, Khost	200 families
IOMGDZ075	Construction of retaining wall in Bahram Khel Village, Khost Province	200 families
IOMGDZ076	Construction of double siphons in Narizi and Form Bagh Villages, Khost Province	2,500 families
IOMGDZ077	Construction of reservoir and pipe water system in Khozai Khel village, Paktia	540 families
IOMGDZ078	Construction of retaining wall and dike siphon repair in Kotki Village, Khost	400 families
IOMKDZ032	Rehabilitation of Irrigation Canal Intake, Takhar Province	15,000 beneficiaries will benefit from the 500 hectares of irrigated land in 12 villages

C. Indicators of Success

In preparation for program close-out in June 2005, OTI has been working toward the incorporation of several of its projects and initiatives into the wider USAID Mission program. In consultation with the USAID mission and implementing partners, several projects have been identified for continued funding and in December, OTI successfully handed over the first project to USAID’s Quick Impact Project (QIP) program. Also during the month, OTI provided guidance on continued support for technical advisors to key government ministries and transitioned these grantees to the QIP program. The continuation of this support is essential to the implementation of USAID’s community-development and infrastructure activities and this successful transition serves as an example for additional project handovers expected in the close-out process. Other projects to be handed over include specific local media partners and select gender activities.

OTI’s contribution to Afghanistan’s Presidential inauguration is indicative of the collaborative relationships that have been developed along with its proven responsiveness. When the Government of Afghanistan requested U.S. assistance to provide streamed, simultaneous translation for the inauguration and the recent counter-narcotics jirga as well as new paving for the inauguration route, OTI was identified by Afghan government counterparts as the partner of choice. Building on previous collaboration with the Kabul Municipality and the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, OTI provided a small amount of funding and leveraged it with past experience and technical assistance to enhance the U.S. contribution to the inauguration. In less than a week, OTI assistance ensured that 250 translation headsets were available for those attending the inauguration and participating in the counter-narcotics jirga and assisted in the repair and clean-up of the streets along the inauguration route.

NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

During the month of January 2005, OTI will

• Continue working toward program close-out, scheduled for June 2005;
• Accelerate monitoring and evaluation plans with increased field visits;
• Continue discussions with U.S. Embassy and Provincial Reconstruction Team colleagues, government counterparts and civil society representatives regarding U.S. assistance in insecure communities and engaging local and tribal leaders in these communities.

For further information, please contact:
In Washington: Elizabeth Callender, USAID/OTI/ANE Program Manager, Tel: 202-712-4078, ecallender@usaid.gov