Report: The Dangers of Militarized Aid in Afghanistan

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The strategy of militarized aid in Afghanistan is failing to help the Afghani people says a new policy paper from eight nonprofit groups who have worked in the country for almost 50 years, including Oxfam International and Actionaid.  “The overemphasis on military issues at the expense of efforts to promote genuine development and good government matters not only because of the resulting human cost, but also because poverty, unemployment and weak, corrupt government are important drivers of conflict.” The paper has a series of recommendations, including strengthening local development organizations and improving aid coordination from the United Nations, which would overhaul the current approach to development and reconstruction.

When asked what the major drivers of the current conflict in Afghanistan were, an Oxfam survey from 14 provinces found that 70 percent of respondents believed that poverty and unemployment was a major factor while 48 percent pointed to the corruption and ineffectiveness of the government.

Instead of militarized aid, the authors are calling for more community based development projects. Organizations like the National Solidarity Program (NSP) provide aid by empowering local governments to help their own citizens. The authors argue that decreasing militarized aid and increasing funding and coordination for programs like the NSP will be far more beneficial to Afghans, and allow them to develop projects themselves, rather than strictly relying on foreign aid. 

The paper’s recommendations are:

• Provide stronger support for successful programming like Community-Based Education. Ensure that these programs remain separate from the work of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and are not recipients of military funding.
• Establish and implement a plan to gradually phase out PRT-provided and other militarized forms of aid. At the same the time, the capacity of and funding for national and international civilian organizations should be increased.
• Increase the ability of local organizations to design and implement development projects.
• Ensure that aid is equitably delivered throughout the country based on development and humanitarian needs, and in line with national development plans.
• Improve the capacity, responsiveness and transparency of local government. Afghans overwhelmingly want a government capable of delivering basic services and the rule of law, yet these systems remain weak and largely ineffective at the local level.
• Support the UN to take on a greater role in delivering and coordinating aid, particularly in under-resourced provinces and districts. The UN must also be more forceful in coordinating aid efforts, preserving their independence and improving their effectiveness, accountability and transparency.