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Afghanistan Aid Squandered, Charity Says

Despite billions in donations, poverty remains rampant

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2007 12:00 PM CST
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(Newser) – The US approved another $6.4 billion in aid for Afghanistan this year, but a leading charity says too much development funding is being wasted on short-term quick fixes. An Oxfam assessment attests that "non-Afghan resources" and "high expatriate salaries and living costs" are soaking up aid, leaving Afghanis mired in poverty, Reuters reports.

"The development process has been too centralized, top-heavy and insufficient," the report says. Moreover, more than half of all American aid to Afghanistan goes to private contractors, not to the Afghan government, entrenching the situation and keeping local institutions weak. Kabul's cost of living is extremely high: Supporting a foreign consultant there can cost up to half a million dollars annually.

U.S. soldiers stand in front of their humvee armored vehicle, as the Dara-e- Noor's administrative department is seen in the background after it was hit with a rocket fired by by Taliban militants in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. (AP Photo)
U.S. soldiers stand in front of their humvee armored vehicle, as the Dara-e- Noor's administrative department is seen in the background after it was hit with a rocket fired by by Taliban militants in...   (Associated Press)
An Afghan man reads a passage from the Quran at the grave an Afghan lawmaker during a funeral in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007.
An Afghan man reads a passage from the Quran at the grave an Afghan lawmaker during a funeral in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007.   (Associated Press)
A US soldier of 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment guard during the Shoura, or Conference of tribal elders meeting in Charbaron, eastern Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov 18, 2007. Hundreds of Afghan men gathered to take part in Shoura which was organized by the US army in eastern Afghanistan to talk about...
A US soldier of 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment guard during the Shoura, or Conference of tribal elders meeting in Charbaron, eastern Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov 18, 2007. Hundreds of Afghan men...   (Associated Press)
An Afghan street vendor waits for customers, as he sells sunglasses in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
An Afghan street vendor waits for customers, as he sells sunglasses in the city of Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Nov. 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)   (Associated Press)
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Oxfam's programs in Afghanistan
OXFAM International

US urged to spend more on aid to Afghanistan
Associated Press

 
Afghanistan • Kabul • foreign aid • Oxfam

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