*EPF410 12/12/2002
Afghanistan Development Progressing, USAID Administrator Says
(Interview with USAID head Natsios in New York) (850)

By Judy Aita
Washington File Staff Writer

New York -- Describing a country slowly but surely coming back from almost total destruction, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says that work in Afghanistan is shifting from emergency humanitarian aid to long-term development programs that will rehabilitate agriculture, enhance education, improve health and create jobs.

Nevertheless, the people of Afghanistan as well as the international community working with them must realize that the progress isn't always evident because it involves much more than just rehabilitating bombed out buildings, USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios said in an interview December 10

"It's the economy, capacity building, it is the provision of humanitarian assistance to last the winter. It is schools, it is hospitals, it is clinics, it is water systems," he said of the multi-billion dollar international aid effort.

"The reality is that you don't rebuild a country that was destroyed in 24 years of civil war in eight months. It can't be done," he said. Afghanistan presents one of the most difficult humanitarian and development challenges ever faced.

Since the beginning of 2002, the United States has provided about $690 million in assistance to Afghanistan, either direct aid or through contributions to U.N. or non-governmental aid agencies, and it expects to provide about $300 million a year for the next several years.

The first principle for the international community is to get the economy going by working with the government of President Hamid Karzai, Natsios said. That help takes many forms -- increasing agricultural production, helping to privatize previously state-owned businesses, providing work for Afghans on road-building and other development projects, eliminating landmines, training teachers, and providing opportunities for Afghan entrepreneurs to re-open long closed businesses.

"The second principle is we have to develop the capacity of the new interim government of President Karzai to govern the country, provide public services, to provide stability, to prepare for democratic elections," the USAID administrator said.

For example, the United States is going to begin training Ministry of Finance personnel in accounting, auditing and business administration, Natsios said. "The purpose of this training is to make sure they can have a functioning system of revenue collection, mostly customs duty."

Afghanistan is at the crossroads of central Asia, and therefore customs duties will be the source of most of its tax revenue to support public services, he said.

The same staff that helped Bosnia and Kosovo set up economic governance mechanisms -- the tax system, customs system, budgeting and accounting systems for ministries, running the central bank and new currency -- now will be working in Afghanistan, Natsios said.

A new currency is now in place; the old currency was shredded, he noted. President Karzai feels that establishing a unified currency for the entire country "is one of his most important accomplishments."

The third element of the international Afghan aid program is to continue the humanitarian relief efforts to ensure that the death rates do not rise again during the expected severe winter.

"Ninety percent of the food needed in inaccessible areas is now in place in warehouses so that we won't have the kind of crisis we had last winter," Natsios said.

One of the most promising developments has been the dramatic increase in food production this past summer, he also said.

"Wheat production increased by 800,000 tons, which is a 50-percent increase," he said. "Even though there is still a 25-percent gap between the country's food requirements and what is grown, we believe over the next year and a half we can get the food system up to pre-1978 levels, when the country was feeding itself and exporting fruits, vegetables, grapes and nuts."

USAID is also providing an improved seed that has already increased wheat production by 80 to 100 percent, Natsios said, and over the next three years it is hoped that wheat production will rise by another 800,000 tons.

Afghan farmers have assured aid workers that if the irrigation systems are restored the country's orchards and vineyards will be back to normal in three years, Natsios said. To date, 850 kilometers of irrigation tunnels have been restored.

"We do know that food security has dramatically improved as a result of the last harvest. Markets are beginning to function again in the rural areas," Natsios said. "Life is going to take a few years to return to normal, but the economy is beginning to come back and if we can get irrigation systems back on line, the country will become more prosperous every day."

The next ambitious goal for USAID and the international community is to restore every one of the country's 1,034 health clinics and upgrade them to a common standard, so that each has the same level of pharmaceuticals, equipment and trained staff. Then, certain clinics in each region will be enhanced to have special expertise in areas such as maternal health, surgery or other medical disciplines, he said.

"A very ambitious goal is to have a clinic within 4 hours walking distance of everyone in the country. It's very ambitious but we think we can accomplish it working with the Ministry of Health, NGOs, contractors, UNICEF, WHO (World Health Organization), and the European Union," he said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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