www.theguardian.com A major report warned that much of Britain's £1.6billion sent in aid to Afghanistan since 2006 has been wasted. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact says that the aid gave little value for money.
The Department for International Development’s £20million rural development program, which aimed to persuade farmers to switch to legal crops, produced ‘no evidence of long-term sustainable change’.
The study revealed:
1. Poppy cultivation in Helmand has risen by more than 50 per cent since 2010 to over 250,000 acres.
2. Overall opium production in Afghanistan has trebled in the last decade to over 500,000 acres.
3. The project had a target of helping 118,000 people achieve improved income opportunities but ended up assisting 4,625.
4. Only 40 per cent of the money sent to Afghanistan actually enters its economy, with most of it siphoned off by foreign contractors.
5. Although some aspects of the program have fared better, it is not clear what positive impacts will remain after troops leave the country at the end of this year.
The Department for International Development’s £20million rural development program, which aimed to persuade farmers to switch to legal crops, produced ‘no evidence of long-term sustainable change’.
The study revealed:
1. Poppy cultivation in Helmand has risen by more than 50 per cent since 2010 to over 250,000 acres.
2. Overall opium production in Afghanistan has trebled in the last decade to over 500,000 acres.
3. The project had a target of helping 118,000 people achieve improved income opportunities but ended up assisting 4,625.
4. Only 40 per cent of the money sent to Afghanistan actually enters its economy, with most of it siphoned off by foreign contractors.
5. Although some aspects of the program have fared better, it is not clear what positive impacts will remain after troops leave the country at the end of this year.
www.examiner.com Dfid is still committed to spending £180million a year in Afghanistan until at least 2017.
Is this right?
Just imagine giving money to a starving beggar, only to find he's buying alcohol instead of food.
Britain is struggling with finances at this moment in time. Funds have been withheld from many of its citizens—pensioners are struggling to eat well, the poor are using food banks to keep their family fed, people have lost all their possessions in the flood and are returning to devastated homes, and businesses are closing in the poor economic climate.
I'm not sure a nation should continue to aid another when that country's tax-payers need assistance. We're told on an airplane, if the air pressure causes masks to fall, able bodied people should ensure their own supply so they can help others.
Is this right?
Just imagine giving money to a starving beggar, only to find he's buying alcohol instead of food.
Britain is struggling with finances at this moment in time. Funds have been withheld from many of its citizens—pensioners are struggling to eat well, the poor are using food banks to keep their family fed, people have lost all their possessions in the flood and are returning to devastated homes, and businesses are closing in the poor economic climate.
I'm not sure a nation should continue to aid another when that country's tax-payers need assistance. We're told on an airplane, if the air pressure causes masks to fall, able bodied people should ensure their own supply so they can help others.
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