Canada's Most Recent Development Announcements to Afghanistan
Canada’s engagement in Afghanistan, through the complementary and mutually reinforcing efforts of the Canadian Forces, our diplomats, development experts and civilian police, is supporting the Afghan people in their efforts to stabilize the country, strengthen governance, and reduce poverty, all of which are intrinsically linked. Since April 2006, the Government of Canada, through CIDA, has announced the following development initiatives:
Nationwide Scope
Kandahar Province
 Nationwide Scope
Girls Education Support Program ($8 million) October 15, 2007
Implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada, the Girls’ Education Support Program will promote the enhancement of girls’ education through activities such as the establishment of early childhood development and women’s literacy classes, improvements to teacher training, the provision of scholarships to adolescent girls for secondary schooling, and the rehabilitation of schools to facilitate girls’ access.
World Food Programme ($25 million) October 7, 2007
Canada’s New Government, through a strengthened partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), will enhance its support for economic and social development to meet the emergency food needs of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable people. The WFP is the food aid arm of the United Nations system.
Murad Khane Project ($3 million) October 6, 2007
Implemented by the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, the Murad Khane project will support the economic, social, and cultural regeneration of the historic Murad Khane district located in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. The project will encompass a variety of activities aimed at raising the community’s standard of living, enhancing its economy, strengthening its traditions and identity, and opening it up to visitors and shoppers.
Education Quality Improvement Project ($60 million) October 4, 2007
Canada is contributing $60 million over four years to the Education Quality Improvement Project (EQUIP), which is managed by the World Bank. EQUIP supports activities that strengthen the capacity of schools and communities to manage teaching and learning activities. It also invests in educational facilities and human resources, while placing a special emphasis on the promotion of education for girls.
Justice and the Rule of Law (more than $8 million) July 12, 2007
- $5 million to help Rights & Democracy implement a key initiative to promote long-term and sustainable legal and policy reforms to improve the status of women in Afghanistan.
- $2.9 million to help the International Criminal Defence Attorneys Association, in collaboration with the International Legal Foundation (ILF), deliver legal aid to indigents in Afghanistan and engage the Afghan Ministry of Justice to develop a national policy on legal aid.
- $680,000 to support CANADEM in ensuring the ongoing deployment of a Gender Advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Interior (MOI), who contributes advice, information, guidance and recommendations on a number of important gender measures.
Emergency Aid to Tropical Storm Survivors in Pakistan and Afghanistan (up to $2 million) July 4, 2007
Canada’s contribution will help provide immediate relief to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan affected by storms and floods. This humanitarian aid will be provided through trusted international and local partners involved in the response.
Food Aid and Humanitarian Assistance to Refugees and Internally Displaced People in Afghanistan (up to $10 million) April 13, 2007
- Up to $5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to help over 3.4 million Afghans through programs such as food for work, training and education. The WFP works with the Government of Afghanistan, non-government partners and local communities to ensure that priority is given to the most vulnerable, including poor and food-insecure households, the internally displaced, tuberculosis patients and their families, school children, teachers and illiterate people. This brings Canada's contribution to the WFP's emergency food assistance efforts in Afghanistan to $13.9 million for the fiscal year 2006-07.
- Up to $5 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for immediate assistance to returning refugees and internally displaced people within Afghanistan. The UNHCR works in cooperation with the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation and the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development to ensure that the most vulnerable people are assisted with shelter, small grants for food and fuel, as well as with help to reintegrate into the local population.
Strengthening the Rights of Women in Afghanistan (up to $9 million) April 12, 2007
- Up to $5 million to help the Afghan government create stronger programs dedicated to enhancing the role and voice of Afghan women. This includes establishing a Gender Studies Institute at Kabul University.
- Up to $4 million to support local initiatives proposed by Afghans that help create more economic and educational opportunities for women and girls. Canada's field staff in Kabul will administer the fund, and will emphasize projects such as Women's Entrepreneurship and career development skills for women, training and advocacy on eliminating violence against women, and education and literacy for women and girls.
Additional Funding for Reconstruction and Development Activities in Afghanistan (up to $200 million) February 26, 2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced up to $200 million in additional funding for reconstruction and development activities in Afghanistan. The funding, to be disbursed this year on top of Canada’s annual allocation to development activities in Afghanistan, will flow through CIDA and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) to five priority areas.
CIDA will provide the bulk of the funding to three areas:
- governance and development ($120 million);
- de-mining ($20 million); and
- road construction ($10 million).
DFAIT will provide the remainder of the funding to the following two areas:
- counter-narcotics ($30 million); and
- policing ($20 million).
Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan
($16 million) February 5, 2007
The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), launched by the Government of Afghanistan in June 2003, funds 13 microfinance institutions that, in turn, provide small loans and financial services to poor Afghans, particularly women.
Support to the United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan
($5 million) January 9, 2007
Canada's contribution will support activities undertaken by the United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan (UNMACA) across the country, including minefield survey and clearance, stockpile destruction, mine-risk education, victim assistance and capacity building, and coordination. The objective of UNMACA and the Government of Afghanistan is to reduce by 70 percent the land area contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance—estimated at 720 million square metres—by the end of 2010. Over the past 17 years, more than one billion square metres of land in Afghanistan has been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance.
Micronutrient Initiative
($750,000) November 15, 2006
The Micronutrient Initiative, a Canada-based internationally-recognized not-for-profit organization, is dedicated to eliminating vitamin and mineral deficiencies worldwide. The project will provide iodized salt to 10 million Afghans, preventing an estimated 100,000 Afghan children from being born mentally impaired and will provide iron-fortified flour to 2.5 million Afghans to reduce the incidence of anemia.
Girls’ Primary Education
($14.5 million) October 22, 2006
The project will establish up to 4,000 community-based schools and after-school learning programs and train 9,000 new female schoolteachers. It will reach some 120,000 children in 11 provinces, including Kandahar Province, 85 percent of them girls. The Building Resources Across Communities - Afghanistan (BRAC-AF) is implementing the project in collaboration with the Afghan Ministry of Education.
Integrating Women into Markets
($5 million) October 22, 2006
This project will help 1,500 women develop horticulture operations in home-based gardens, growing fruits and vegetables to supplement family diets and income. The 3.5-year project is managed by the Canadian-based non-governmental organization Mennonite Economic Development Associates.
Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund
($10 million) October 22, 2006
The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), a multi-donor fund administered by the World Bank, supports the Government of Afghanistan in its efforts to re-establish a fully functioning and representative government system by funding basic public services such as education and health and day-to-day operations that are vital for the development of Afghan society.
National Solidarity Program
($13 million) October 11, 2006
The National Solidarity Program is the Government of Afghanistan's mechanism for the development of rural infrastructure. The program seeks to reduce poverty by strengthening community level governance and by providing grants to communities throughout the country to implement reconstruction and development projects identified by communities themselves, such as improvements are made to drinking water, sanitation, irrigation, power, roads, schools and health clinics.
Global Polio Eradication Initiative in Kandahar Province
($5 million) October 5, 2006
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) seeks to eliminate polio so that no child will ever again suffer permanent polio paralysis. The conflict in southern Afghanistan has stymied vaccination of children, resulting in a resurgence of the disease, especially in Kandahar and Helmand provinces. Canada’s contribution will support the GPEI’s effort to immunize over seven million children between September 2006 and December 2007. Of the $5 million provided by CIDA, at least $1.2 million will directly benefit Kandahar Province.
Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan
($12 million) September 23, 2006
The Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), launched by the Government of Afghanistan in June 2003, funds 13 microfinance institutions that, in turn, provide small loans and financial services to poor Afghans, particularly women.
Western Basins Water Resources
($15 million) June 15, 2006
Water resources management and irrigated agriculture are fundamental to the well being of rural Afghans and the economy. In the Western Basins, comprised of the provinces of Badghis, Ghowr and Herat, canal networks need extensive repair and upgrading. Canada’s contribution will support a project, initiated by the Asian Development Bank and the Government of Afghanistan, to repair irrigation systems damaged by years of conflict and neglect. The project will also provide income-generating opportunities to women and landless farmers through the provision of equipment, training and demonstration plots.
Kandahar Province
Health and Community Development ($45 million)
- $17.5 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) to help implement a national polio eradication initiative and a tuberculosis control program;
- $10 million to the National Solidarity Program to build on the substantial results achieved to date in the areas of local governance and community development;
- $5 million to the Kandahar Local Initiatives Program, which will support
- small-scale, quick-action development and reconstruction initiatives that respond to immediate needs;
- $10 million to UNICEF to help improve access to maternal and child health services in the southern region, with a focus on Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar City; and,
- $2.5 million for a rapid-response health intervention fund for local NGOs and institutions in Kandahar.
Operation Hamkari: Demining Project in Kandahar Province
($3.8 million) January 9, 2007
Canada's contribution to the United Nations Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan will support Operation Hamkari (‘‘hamkari’’ means assistance and partnership in the Dari language) in the Kandahar districts of Panjwai and Zherai. Over a 12-month period, approximately 2.9 million square metres of contaminated land will be cleared, and 27,000 Afghans in the districts, including children and youth, will be educated about the dangers of mines and unexploded ordnance. Awareness and advocacy activities will also be undertaken to ensure social opportunities and equal rights for landmine survivors and people with disabilities.
Community-led Development in Kandahar City
($1.9 million) January 9, 2007
Working with the Afghanistan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, UN-HABITAT will establish 12 new democratically elected community development councils (CDCs) in Kandahar City. It will work with these and existing CDCs within the city to empower communities to implement their own neighbourhood development projects. Some 6,000 households will benefit from this project, which seeks to rebuild communities destroyed by the conflict in Kandahar. The project will rehabilitate local infrastructure, including shelter, electricity, roads, drainage, and sewers, while also improving services such as water, health and sanitation, and waste management. In addition, infrastructure upgrades will create jobs.
Maternal Health Initiative in Kandahar City
($350,000) January 8, 2007
As part of a new multi-donor initiative led by UNICEF and the Afghan Ministry of Public Health to reduce maternal mortality throughout the country, Canada’s contribution will support UNICEF's project in Kandahar Province. UNICEF will set up a residential obstetric care facility next to Kandahar City’s Mirwais Hospital, provide maternal and neonatal health care training at the Mirwais Hospital, and deliver a safe motherhood information campaign throughout Kandahar Province.
Literacy Program in Kandahar Province
($1.4 million) January 8, 2007
UNICEF will expand its literacy program in Kandahar Province, which currently provides training to 7,500 participants in 160 centres. An additional 155 community teachers will be trained and 4,600 participants, 80 percent of them women, will attend a 10-month course combining reading and numeracy with basic life skills, and health and nutrition education. Monthly food rations will be provided to participants by the World Food Programme to encourage regular attendance.
Accelerated District Reconstruction Program in Kandahar Province
($11.5 million) January 8, 2007
Canada will help speed up the construction and repair of roads, aqueducts, and waste management and sanitation infrastructure, as well as refurbishing schools and clinics throughout Kandahar Province. The two-year project will complement Canada’s support of Afghan national reconstruction programs in Kandahar. The project will oversee the timely and cost-effective completion of reconstruction projects, including the selection and contracting of qualified local Afghan subcontractors, and project monitoring. Local district and village groups will identify the priority needs in the areas of basic road infrastructure, irrigation, water supply, sanitation, and social services.
Assistance to Vulnerable Families in Kandahar Province
($4.5 million) December 20, 2006
UNICEF will provide some 20,000 families with non-food items such as tents, blankets, and warm jackets, micronutrients for children and pregnant women, as well as health and medical supplies for hospitals and clinics. Through UNICEF, support will be given to the Afghan Department of Public Health to immunize as many as 189,000 children against measles and to the Afghan Department of Education to distribute education materials for about 40,000 students going to school in temporary centres.
Emergency Food Assistance to Kandahar Province
($4 million) December 20, 2006
The World Food Programme (WFP) will provide food assistance to vulnerable families in Kandahar that have been affected by the conflict and by the drought. The funding is in response to the WFP's Drought Joint Appeal to help internally displaced people in Kandahar Province.
Emergency Food Assistance to Kandahar Province
($4.9 million) October 23, 2006
The emergency aid will assist the World Food Programme (WFP) to deliver food aid to vulnerable families from Panjwai and Zherai Districts that were displaced from their homes during the NATO-led Operation Medusa against anti-government groups. With this funding, WFP will provide 4,400 metric tonnes of food to vulnerable Afghans throughout the Kandahar region, which has been highly affected by drought.
National Rural Access Program in Kandahar Province
($1.5 million) October 23, 2006
The National Rural Access Program aims to improve a road access network that connects rural households and communities to essential services, while providing badly needed work for the vulnerable and poor. The project enables repairs and reconstruction to critical roads that improve access throughout rural Kandahar, directly benefiting thousands of Afghans throughout the southern region.
Provincial Development Committee Secretariat Support Team
($100,000) October 23, 2006
CIDA is recruiting seven local Afghan professionals to support provincial development planning in Kandahar. This newly established Secretariat Support Team will facilitate collaboration and priority-setting by the Kandahar Provincial Development Committee, the key governance and development body of the provincial Afghan Government.
National Area-based Development Program in Kandahar Province
($3.4 million) October 23, 2006
($3.1 million) October 11, 2006
The National Area-based Development Program (NABDP), an Afghan Government-led initiative implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, helps to improve the lives of rural Afghans by building rural infrastructure, providing access to services and supporting rural development. The program focuses on building and repairing schools, government offices, irrigation channels, water wells, health clinics and other critical services in rural communities.
In Kandahar Province, where needs are particularly acute, CIDA is supporting a focused NABDP approach to initiate a full range of district-based activities. The contribution, announced October 23, will support projects in all 17 districts of Kandahar Province. Canada’s contribution, announced October 11, will support six infrastructure projects (repairs to four bridges, one mountain pass and the Ghorak Check Dams) that will improve the lives of 500,000 rural Afghans by facilitating access to markets, water, and other basic services.
Accelerated National Solidarity Program in Kandahar Province
($2 million) October 11, 2006
The National Solidarity Program is the Government of Afghanistan's mechanism for the development of rural infrastructure. The program seeks to reduce poverty by strengthening community level governance and by providing grants to communities throughout the country to implement reconstruction and development projects identified by communities themselves. Community development councils (CDCs) have been established throughout Kandahar Province, completing many infrastructure projects to improve irrigation, sanitation, roads, water and power supply. Building on this success, Canada’s contribution will support the rapid expansion of the National Solidarity Program to two additional districts in Kandahar Province.
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