The work of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
Engagement beyond 2014
As of: November 2014
The engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
Current situation in Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is still among the poorest countries in the world. The
country is highly influenced by political, economic, social and ecological risks that make it
impossible to overcome poverty in the short-term, despite promise. The basic conditions in
Afghanistan are shaped by climatic dangers, regional conflicts, economic shortage and
unsatisfied basic needs. Society finds itself in a state of vulnerability and uncertainty.
Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the
international community in Afghanistan has
attempted to fight international terrorism with a huge
military deployment. At the same time, the country
should be pacified, democratic development should
be promoted and social infrastructure advanced: For
no other country has so much money been made
available in such a short space of time.
On the path to civil reconstruction and stabilisation of
the security situation, Afghanistan has reached two important milestones in 2014:
Change of government
After two periods of government, government responsibility was passed from Hamid Karzei to
Ashraf Ghani in October 2014. The process of change was characterised by a hard and often
personal election campaign and manifold difficulties in the counting of votes, accompanied
by attacks and the increasing insecurity of the population. After the announcement of the
results and official naming of Ashraf Ghani as president, a hopeful atmosphere could be
witnessed among the population. The new president announced the main focuses for his time
in office to be the fight against corruption and the stimulation of the economy. The situation
for women, which had not markedly advanced under the Karzai government, could be
significantly improved, as already indicated by the first public appearances of the ‘First Lady’.
Transfer of responsibility for security / bilateral security agreement
At the end of 2014, the entire responsibility for security will be transferred to the Afghan
police and the national military forces. This process was started in 2012 and successively
implemented in the provinces. Even if there are regions where the security situation is still
very fragile and in which the so-called Armed Opposition Groups do not recognise state
institutions and even attack them, in many provinces the Afghan police and military have
managed to avert the deterioration in security predicted by many political analysts.
A day after the appointment of the new president, a security agreement was signed between
the USA and the Afghan government, which primarily comprises the training and advising of
the security forces. The big challenge for the Afghan security forces will start in 2015, when
they carry the responsibility for security alone.
The new government must utilise the current trust of the population, in order to carry out
political reforms and develop new strategies, such as how security, peace, reconstruction and
progress can be ensured on a long-term basis.
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The engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
Around 96 per cent of all state expenditure originates from external resources; state revenues
are stagnant. High hopes hang on the considerable raw material deposits. Due to a lack of
infrastructure and the precarious security situation, these can only be opened up in the
medium term.
The main aim of the international community in Afghanistan still lies with the strengthening
of military components. As a result of the focus on the intensification of the development and
training of Afghan security forces and dwindling political support for the engagement in
Western countries, this approach will certainly be perceived by the Afghan population more as
an effort towards withdrawal than towards stabilisation. Politically, the troop withdrawal is no
longer linked with achieved objectives in pacification, state building and reconstruction, as it
was originally.
The USA, the biggest donor by quite some way, has already halved its development payments.
As a result, the successes of the post-Taliban period in education, health, media and civil
society are greatly endangered. The precarious security situation limits access to social
infrastructure, particularly for women and children. Despite the successes of the past ten
years, the level of schools and universities is still extremely low, when compared
internationally.
However, some things have changed over the last ten years: Afghanistan today now has very
little to do with the old cliché of ‘bombs and burkas’. In particular, in cities like Kabul, Herat
or Masar-i-Sharif a well-educated, smart, motivated youth is growing. In the past five years
there has been a boom in universities, whose graduates are now starting their working life.
At the same time, the Taliban and other insurgents are still active to varying degrees in all
parts of the country. Furthermore, in the case of the Taliban, it is a matter of heterogeneous
groupings which differentiate significantly locally and regionally. Despite substantial losses in
middle command levels, Taliban structures are unbroken. For now, the Taliban is aiming not
at territorial gains but is appearing to wait for the 2014 troop withdrawal. However, an
intensification of their operations – varying across regions – must be expected, particularly in
areas where the ANSF bear sole responsibility.
On the part of the Taliban, it was announced in
August 2013 that the work of international NGOs
would be recognised and the implementation of
their programme work ensured, insofar as political
neutrality and respect for Islamic culture is ensured
by the NGOs. With respect to the heterogeneity of
the Taliban movement, it remains to be seen how
far guarantees of this type are implemented locally
and regionally by Taliban leadership.
The insurgency movement in the form of the
Taliban is more a symptom than cause of the
internal conflicts in Afghanistan. Even if there has been substantial support of Afghan
institutions, Afghanistan’s state authorities are still not sufficiently strengthened. The
separation of powers does not function, the rule of law is weakly defined and government
leadership is influenced by patronage. Political networks compete for economic influence and
increasingly scarce resources. The country’s economy is characterised as far as possible by an
orientation towards short-term gains – and less by long-term social and sustainable
development.
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The engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
The internal political landscape is doubly polarised: firstly, militarily, between the ANSF and
insurgents, and secondly, politically, between a coalition around President Karzai and
opposition groups that emerged from the civil war militia of the 1990s. Former mujahideen
and ex-communists in parliament carried out a self-amnesty for past war crimes. There is very
little space for democratic forces between the two extreme positions. The pressure on civil
society actors and independent media is increasing.
Geo-political challenges continue to exist due to tense relations with the neighbouring country
of Pakistan. Pakistani terrorist groups were originally supported by the country’s armed forces,
in order to set them into conflict with India over Kashmir. India attempted to counteract this
through intensive relations with Afghanistan. Other countries in the region also pursue their
geo-political interests in Afghanistan.
As a consequence of long-lasting conflicts in
several regions of Afghanistan, many Afghan
families often have no alternative but to leave
their home regions and to seek out a safer
living environment elsewhere, one that ensures
survival, at least temporarily. In recent years,
the worsening of the security situation and
ongoing conflicts, especially in the traditional
areas of southern Afghanistan, including in
Kandahar, have led to the number of internal
refugees increasing continually. Refugees
returning from Iran and Pakistan often find
their home regions destroyed and with broken
infrastructure. There is also a lack of basic services (e.g. health care) in a generally insecure
living environment, characterised by ongoing conflicts and military arguments. A further
problem is the loss of land and/or long running land disputes, so that many families are left
without enough agricultural land to provide sufficient food for themselves.
Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
The work of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan began in 1980 – immediately after the then
occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union – within the context of emergency aid
measures for refugees. From 1993 onwards, Welthungerhilfe strengthened its emergency aid
activities. The country office established in 1999 in Kabul took over the coordination of the
programme. Methods and focal points have shifted since the start of the cooperation – from
an original focus on pure emergency aid, towards the strengthening of rural population groups
in their efforts towards restoration and promotion of their basic livelihoods. The aim of
Welthungerhilfe’s work in previous years in Afghanistan lay in sustainably improving the basic
needs of selected target groups in the intervention areas. The programme and operational
design of the engagement were, however, continually defined and limited by current political
conditions, so that the selection of project locations was always oriented around the respective
prevailing security conditions.
Since 1993, Welthungerhilfe has made a continuous contribution to development-oriented
cooperation with Afghanistan and, as a result, has earned respect and recognition from the
population and local authorities. This reputation facilitates cooperation with the government
at a national level, including the provinces and districts, as well as with international financial
backers.
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The engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
The primary mandate of Welthungerhilfe in
Afghanistan is the concrete improvement of
living conditions for the poorest sections of the
Afghan population. The people in Afghanistan
should develop their own capacities and skills,
in order to improve their living situation on a
long-term basis. In many projects, therefore,
irrigation systems or wells for clean water are
put in place, protection of resources is carried
out or new income opportunities are opened
up. Alongside this, Welthungerhilfe advocates
for the needs, interests and views of the
population and Afghan civil society in national
and international forums and is also an
advocate for a long-term German civil engagement in Afghanistan.
Welthungerhilfe is active in Kabul as well as in the provinces of Nangarhar (east),
Jowzjan/Faryab (north west) and Samangan (north east). The target groups are rural
households, taking into consideration the needs of women and children, as well as internal
Afghan refugees and returnees from Pakistan and Iran living in the cities.
In the course of the development policy focus since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001,
Welthungerhilfe has implemented more than 125 projects to the sum of over 96 million Euro.
Currently, 5 international employees and more than 250 local employees are working on
projects. There is also cooperation with 4 local partner organisations, as well as within the
European Alliance2015 network.
Within the framework of the engagement, Welthungerhilfe is stressing its long-term nature: It
has been in the country for 20 years and is planning – as long as basic conditions in the
country allow it and it continues to be welcomed by the population – an outlook far beyond
2014. Welthungerhilfe will continue with its work for the humanitarian and developmentoriented needs of Afghanistan over the next few years and has developed strategic framework
conditions for this. Many projects are already scheduled beyond 2015.
Emergency aid
Large parts of the Welthungerhilfe project areas in Afghanistan are affected at regular
intervals by recurring natural disasters. Due to structural deficiencies, the government can
only inadequately support certain at-risk population groups with poor provision. Where survival
and emergency aid is required in the case of such disasters, Welthungerhilfe provides the
relevant intervention. The measures are focussed on the project regions of Welthungerhilfe, in
order to supplement and ensure the basic provision of existing target groups and ongoing
projects. In the case of acute and serious natural disasters with big losses for the affected
population (e.g. earthquakes), Welthungerhilfe will also provide emergency and survival aid
beyond the existing project locations. Currently, Welthungerhilfe is providing emergency aid
for a total of more than 20,000 people, primarily for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in
Kabul. Further projects for the provision of
IDPs are being planned.
Rural development
The work of Welthungerhilfe builds on years
of experience in the following areas: (i)
rehabilitation,
reconstruction
and/or
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The engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
improvement of basic infrastructure in rural areas (drinking water, irrigation, road building,
community institutions, etc), and (ii) agriculture and food security, including income
generating measures. In total, more than 110,000 people are currently being reached.
Civil society
The building of a strong civil society as a supplement and corrective to state structures, in
terms of a democracy, is still in the early stages. Welthungerhilfe is working systematically on
an intensification of the cooperation with Afghan national civil society organisations. Until
now, only isolated realised measures have been substantially intensified and developed and
implemented as part of a strategic approach for cooperation with Afghan NGOs. Currently, 3
local NGOs are being actively supported; cooperation with other NGOs is being planned.
Our engagement in the security conflict
The political framework conditions in Afghanistan are characterised by armed conflicts and a
lack of stability in various areas. The tense security situation, with its high risk potential for
national and international workers, presents a big challenge.
Welthungerhilfe has aligned its work to clear principles. Neutrality and independence are
important cornerstones in this. Constant dialogue with the civil population as well as
transparency in the implementation of projects are essential for the work of Welthungerhilfe in
Afghanistan.
An important prerequisite for Welthungerhilfe is still that there is high acceptance by the
Afghan population for the engagement of Welthungerhilfe in the project regions. The signals
to date have been positive and closely linked with the clear emphasis on the neutrality and
independence of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan.
Competent Afghan employees who have gained trust in the villages through transparency,
predictability and reliability are still a key factor for the ongoing engagement of
Welthungerhilfe. A new programmatic focal point lies in significantly strengthening local skills
and capabilities. In addition, cooperation with local partners will be strengthened and the
training of local employees promoted. The goal is to equip Afghan structures with a greater
responsibility and to entrust more national employees with management duties.
From the start, Welthungerhilfe has expressed its opposition to cooperations that are based on
civil-military strategies. Welthungerhilfe campaigns for a clear separation between issues of
security and stabilisation on the one hand and humanitarian missions on the other. For the
engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan, the unambiguous independence of the
development cooperation is to be ensured, so that impartiality, independence and
humanitarian working principles can be conveyed both to target groups and to the involved
conflict parties.
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The engagement of Welthungerhilfe in Afghanistan
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