CANADIAN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE IN AFGHANISTAN: CURRENT PROJECTS

 SEE MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS TO AFGHANISTAN

Canada is among the top five donors in Afghanistan devoted to development and reconstruction. Canada, through CIDA, provides much of its $100 million annual funding through reputable and well-managed partner organizations including the World Bank, UN organizations and internationally-recognized non-governmental organizations. Each partner organization undertakes rigorous accounting and reporting procedures.

Canada supports Afghan-designed and -led national programs that bring benefits and basic services to Afghans across the country. The best development progress is achieved when Afghans themselves are leading the way. By supporting projects for water wells, roads, schools and health clinics, or by helping the Afghan people create jobs, Canada is helping to improve the lives of all Afghans.

Canada is also responsible for the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, which is aimed at assisting the Afghan government in extending its authority to Kandahar Province, and supporting reconstruction and development. The expertise of Canadian diplomats, development experts, the police and military is helping to further these objectives.

Microcredit

The development of entrepreneurship and agriculture is key to fostering self-reliance in Afghanistan, which is why Canada continues to be the national microcredit program’s lead donor. The program’s goal has already been surpassed, to the benefit of 190,000 savings and credit services clients, nearly 75 percent of whom are women. Most of the loans are used to start up small retail sales businesses and 99 percent of these are repaid with interest.

The following are some concrete examples of what Afghans have accomplished with Canadian assistance:

	A widow obtained a small loan to buy a small store that sells food.
	An Afghan farmer had to sell his land to feed his family. With his small loan, he was able to buy a store, repurchase his land and provide work for all of his family.
	A shopkeeper used a loan to buy a used truck, allowing him to deliver merchandise to neighbouring villages.
	A shopkeeper obtained a loan to open a shop to sell curtains and other drapery. She now employs five other women and provides for her entire family.
	A seamstress obtained a loan to buy a few sewing machines, thus allowing her sons to work with her, making suits for men.

With the collaboration of CARE Canada, Canada supports programs that have fed more than 10,000 widows and their families. This assistance also gives women the chance to learn basic reading and mathematical skills and to obtain professional training in order to find work. The Canadian government has allocated $7 million for these projects ($2.5 million for the Kabul Widows Assistance Program; and $4.5 million for the professional training project).

National Solidarity Program

Canada also funds the National Solidarity Program, through which more than 12,000 villages, or half of all Afghan villages, approximately 150,000 families, have had a say in the construction of schools, clinics, roads, irrigation canals and wells in their communities. This program has the double advantage of helping Afghans elect village councils, comprising men as well as women, and helping them build infrastructure to improve their access to health services and education for their children.