The Afghan Government has articulated its overarching goals for the well-being of its people in the Afghanistan Millennium Development Goals Country Report 2005 – Vision 2020. Consistent with those goals, this Compact identifies three critical and interdependent areas or pillars of activity for the five years from the adoption of this Compact:

1. Security;
2. Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights; and
3. Economic and Social Development.

A further vital and cross-cutting area of work more...

Building an effective state that can provide security and services to the people is at the heart of the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. This report looks at the implications for public administration reform over the next 5-10 years, and proposes a priority agenda for action by the Government of Afghanistan and the donor community. It focuses on three main areas: building an effective civil service, improving governance and service delivery at the local level, and making government accounta more...

Afghanistan's banking system had collapsed and there were no microfinance institutions, leaving the entire country to rely on the informal financial system. In 2003, the Government, together with donors, decided to promote the development of microfinance services to help people move away from dependence on humanitarian assistance to becoming economically independent. With a further 5 million potential clients, demand for microfinance services in Afghanistan is huge, far outstripping current supp more...

With renewed international focus on Afghanistan, Michael O'Hanlon and Andrew Shearer assess the continually worsening situation in the country. O'Hanlon and Shearer believe there is no 'silver bullet' strategy for Afghanistan, but they contend that progress can best be accomplished by focusing on four main fronts for positive developments.

Enzar Gull is member number 96 of the Helmand Islamic Investment and Finance Cooperative (HIIFC) established by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). He was able to borrow from the IFC Afs 25,000 last December 10, 2007 with a term of six (6) months and his loan would be due supposedly on June 10, 2008, however he was able to pay his loan in full after four (4) months only.

What is amazing is that Enzar Gull is physically handicapped. He lost both his legs, left arm and two right hand f more...

The Human Development Reports of Afghanistan should be an instrument for accountability. They should be used by the people of Afghanistan to monitor how we have performed with regard to their needs and aspirations. Full report in PDF format: P 1 to 316

The Afghan government, the United States, and other donors consider road reconstruction a top development priority for Afghanistan. Almost 20 percent of the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) $5.9 billion in assistance to Afghanistan has been for roads.

The United States is committed to an enduring partnership with Afghanistan. The U.S.-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership is based on the shared interests of the two countries in enhancing the long-term security, democracy, and prosperity of Afghanistan.

The United States is the leading donor to Afghanistan and has provided increasing amounts of security, reconstruction, governance, and humanitarian assistance since 2001. Total U.S. security and development assistance appropriated for Afghanist more...

'The 2007 Afghanistan Human Development Report ranks the country as one of the poorest in the world, and the poorest nation in the entire Asia and Pacific region. Despite significant security and development gains since the 2001 ouster of the former Taliban regime, the people of Afghanistan continue to suffer widespread insecurity; weak governance; inadequate health care, education, and other public services; and gender inequality. Lack of employment opportunities and poverty continue to conditi more...

Most of the literature on the cost of the Iraq War, Afghan War, and “war on terrorism” focuses on the burden these wars place on the federal budget and the US economy. These are very real issues, but they also have deflected attention from another key issue: whether the war in Afghanistan is being properly funded and being given the resources necessary to win.

Anthony H. Cordesman, the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS, has prepared a new report showing that the US has consistent more...