Introduction to Initial Assessment Report on Afghanistan to UNDP
After receiving a proposal [1] from Afghan Humanitarian, Rehabilitation and Development Organisation (AHRDO), a Kabul based registered [2] NGO [3] , with the request to initiate a Rural Support Programme in Afghanistan, Senior Advisor to UNDP, Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan nominated Abid Ullah Jan and Ikramullah on behalf of UNDP to visit Afghanistan, meet the government officials and the communities for observing the overall environment, assessing potential and their willingness to commence and run a Rural Support Programme for poverty alleviation in war torn Afghanistan.
The proposal to Mr. Shoaib Sultan Khan stressed on the fact that the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan had taken a heavy toll on its physical and economic infrastructure. The conflict had also brought wholesale destruction of its social services and massive dislocation of its population. This has severely weakened community resilience – the very resilience that has been the source of endurance for the average Afghans throughout the past 20 years of conflict.
Poverty in Afghanistan has grown many folds and the whole population is suffering from a kind of dependency syndrome.
After some initial delays in conducting this feasibility study, we finally got visit visas for Afghanistan on July 2, 1999, left for Kabul on July 4, and returned to Pakistan on July 8, 1999.
On July 5, 1999 a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Planning, Directorate of Rural Development were held. The team also visited a community in Charasyab near Kabul.
On July 6, 1999 the team met with the staff of Rehabilitation Agency for Development of Afghanistan (RADA), Vice Chancellor and faculty members of Kabul University and staff of Norwegian Project Office– Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (NPO/RRAA).
The team travelled to Jalalabad on July 7, 1999 and met a community at Behsood in the evening.
On July 8, 1999 the team met with the community at Chaperhar and also met regional staff of NPO/RRAA Jalalabad Office before travelling back to Pakistan.
AHRDO had made all the arrangements for the team’s meeting with different government and non-government officials and the entire programme went well as per schedule.
The purpose of the preliminary feasibility study was to assess the working environment in Afghanistan and find out if the government was willing to collaborate in commencing Afghan Rural Support Programme for poverty alleviation and if the communities had the willingness and readiness to help themselves. For this purpose, the team informed AHRDO well in advance that the team’s schedule should include meetings with government ministries, social development and other departments, NGOs and the communities around Kabul and Jalalabad.
The following report presents the team’s observations and recommendations in detail.
Notes:
[1] The proposal that was submitted by AHRDO to Shoaib Sultan Khan, Senior Advisor to UNDP, is annexed with the report as Annex-3.
[2] Copy of the government of Afghanistan registration letter is Attached as Annex-4, along with the copy of a letter of recognition by the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul.
[3] Articles of Association of AHRDO are attached to this report as Annex-5