A ‘surge’ in Afghan aid won’t solve the big problems facing international reconstruction efforts. More aid is needed, but so are fundamental reforms to its delivery. Opportunities are being squandered by wasteful donor practices and a military strategy that overlooks humanitarian needs.
The announcement of a new Afghanistan strategy by President Obama and his NATO allies brings with it the promise of more resources for reconstruction. Encouraging news, given that the financing shortfall stands at around 48% of estimated needs. Efforts to date have been ‘laughably insufficient’, wrote Paddy Ashdown and Joseph Ingram last week: while reconstruction efforts in Bosnia and East Timor received $580 and $400 per capita respectively, Afghanistan today receives about $57 (though the lack of census data makes this figure hazy).
So, will renewed international commitment to Afghanistan help?
