December 21, 2010 www.interaction.

org

Contacts:
Sue Pleming: 202.552.6561 or 202.341.3814 (Cell) or spleming@interaction.org
Tawana Jacobs: 202.552.6534 or 202.297.1696 (Cell) or tjacobs@interaction.org

Afghanistan aid must target more than

military areas, says coalition of aid groups
While the Obama administration’s review released last week makes an explicit long-term
commitment to Afghanistan, it must ensure that this also includes sustained development efforts
across the whole of the country.

As the biggest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs, InterAction welcomed the

administration’s statement that the U.S. will support the development needs of Afghanistan and
Pakistan, but has several concerns over the current U.S. approach to development in the
countries.

“The review unfortunately reinforces a continuation of the current strategy of channeling a

disproportionate share of U.S. assistance in Afghanistan to areas that are the focus of military
operations. There needs to be a more balanced allocation of development funding across the
country,” said InterAction President and CEO Sam Worthington.

Of InterAction’s nearly 200 members about 35 are working in Afghanistan and/or Pakistan.

“As the administration considers its next steps, we hope it will take into account our
recommendation for more geographically-balanced development,” said Worthington. Only with a
sustained commitment to long-term development across Afghanistan would investments result in
real improvements for the Afghan people, he added.

“InterAction member organizations are in Afghanistan working at the community level with local
Afghan partners to improve local capacity and institutions, expand the sustainable delivery of
basic services, and promote long-term development. Strong U.S. leadership would help advance
these goals to move the country forward,” stated Worthington.

As the administration’s overview statement points out, recent gains in key areas remain “fragile
and reversible.” In order to fully cement any development progress seen over the last year, long-
term durable and sustainable change will need to be seen in country-wide efforts to build
governance and economic, political and social development.

InterAction applauds the administration’s commitment expressed last week to continue to

address corruption, improve governance, and promote transparency and accountability, all
issues central to ensuring that development efforts take root.

“But to truly advance transparent and accountable assistance efforts, U.S. development policy
and strategy should ensure that spending does not exceed the capacity of local actors to absorb
funding in an accountable and effective manner,” said Worthington.
Last July, Pakistan suffered its worst floods in recent history and the U.S. gave generously to
help the Pakistani people to begin to recover from that disaster.

“We strongly urge the administration to develop a plan on how it and other donor countries can
assist the government of Pakistan and its people to promote continued human, social and
economic recovery as well as political stability in the wake of the devastation,” said Worthington.

Given the strong risk of further natural disasters, InterAction also stressed the importance of
developing the capacity of Pakistan’s government and civil society to respond to and reduce the
impact of future disasters.

“The InterAction community looks forward to working closely with the U.S. government and
Congress to ensure that U.S. foreign assistance is well-managed, effective, and ultimately
serves the needs and best interests of the Afghan, Pakistani and American people,” said
Worthington.

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InterAction is the largest alliance US-based nongovernmental international organizations with more than
195 members. Our members operate in every developing country, working with local communities to
overcome poverty and suffering by helping to improve their quality of life. Visit www.interaction.org

InterAction | 1400 16th St. NW, Suite 210, Washington D.C. 20036 | 202.667.8227 | ia@interaction.org