KABUL, 6 August 2009 (IRIN): Development aid should be targeted at stable provinces in central Afghanistan where projects can be more successful and effective than in conflict zones, says the UN.
– We focus too much on conflict provinces and we spend enormous amounts of money there and it does not have much impact because of the conflict, said the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, during a recent visit to Bamyan Province.
– The balance [of aid spending by donors] is wrong, he said, adding that development aid had little impact in the insecure provinces but significant effect in stable provinces like Bamyan.
– I am afraid that if we don’t spend more money in stable provinces we will also see instabilities here. It should be a warning signal to us all [and] teach us a lesson [to] direct money to the stable provinces, Eide said.
More than 60 multilateral donors have spent about 36 billion US dollar on development, reconstruction and humanitarian projects in Afghanistan since 2002, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
While there is a lack of reliable statistics on aid expenditure, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says there has been a major disparity in aid spending across the country.
Kabul, for instance, has received almost 20 per cent of the development funding while the provinces of Daikundi, Faran and Sar-e-Pol have together received less than 1 per cent, UNAMA officials told IRIN.
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