Sending foreign aid to under developed countries such as Afghanistan is doing more harm than good, and it should be discontinued; the practice has caused Afghanistan countries to become vulnerable to inflation, currency fluctuations, corruption, and civil unrest. I've learned that proper education, government control, and environmental development would help the poor become more prosperous and independent. I feel that this practice is a lot more beneficial than sending over government aid. Although there are some pros I feel that the cons may out weigh the pros in this particular situation. In this paper I'm going to attempt to give examples of how foriegn aid has both hindered and helped the government in Afghanistan make a turnaround, however some of the aspects may not look so good in the future. Also I will discuss the influences both negative and postive the government has on foreign aid and corruption. Right now the Afghan economy is in a very vulnerable state because they have been at war for almost 35 years. Afghanistan is about to go into an uphill battle because they have several factors that are heavy impactors that are affecting the country. For example their are still many political and security uncertainties. Their was also a presidential election that took place back in April of 2014. Their is a very vast amount of corruption in the government as well as bad governance all together. However in light of these little pitfalls the economy as well as the security have improved somewhat in Afghanistan. One of the reasons that the economy is beginning to do as well as it has been is because of the foreign aid that is being provided by inernational aid. The agricultural sector has also helped the economy in a very positive way. However, the country is still plagued with bad living conditions, medical care, public infrastructure, high crime, as well as unclean water. All of these factors can pose a major problem on the Afghan government and how it functions in the future. Table 1. International Countries' Pledges for Afghanistan 2002-2012
(USD in millions)
United States 79,879
Japan 13,150
European Union 2,880
Germany 2,680
Asian Development Bank 2,270
Britain 2,220
World Bank 2,140
Total 104,776
Source: Afghanistan Ministry of Finance (MoF), Development Cooperation Report 2012; Congressional Research Service Report for Congress.
Note: Table includes international donors of over USD 2,000 million only. The above table just gives a little example of the international organizations that were suppose to be providing aid to Afghanistan. As you can see most of the international providers have not kept their end of the bargain and have not given the aid that they have promised. Most of the aid that was dispersed went to the security expenses which is largely because of the increase in the Afghan forces to about 68% because of the war. However, NATO has proclaimed that they are going to be removing troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. This will bring about a new era known as the "Transformation Decade (2014-2015)" which is suppose to help the country to build a better future. Which now takes me to the pros and cons of international aid and how it cn be more of a hindrance than a helpful source. When we are talking about additional funding to a country we often think more resorces, but that is not always the case. For instance, additional capital can help a country to get out of poverty. On the other hand it can have some limitations as well, for instance it does not promote community ownership and it limits local resources. On the other hand it can provide funds to build institutions and high technology buildings which enables the under developed countries to compete with some of the more prominent countries. However, the aid can fall into the wrong hands and cause inflation as well as a corrupt government that can be used to bribe government officials to get what they want from the country. Also their have been changes that international funds have provided to better healthcare although little strides have been made in improving education especially for girl's. Also a lot of the funds are misappropriated and used for personal gain whether than for the gain of the countries people. After doing further research it also has been determined that Afghanistan will probably need more than USD 10 to 12 billion since the salaries of the Afghan police and soldiers alone will cost more than USD 6 billion after 2014. (Salih Dogan, 2014). Which this will not come close to being enough for the Afghans to provide sufficient living condtions for their people. The unemployment rate is not improving either it has increased form 9 percent to 15 percent since 2009. Which is not really doing much to improve the economy because this is not helping to improve the economy because in order to be able to provide for a family you have to be able to work. As is this is not bad enough the aim of international development is really to support security and stability. If the country does not get this plan into play which is essential for Afghanistan to grow then the future of Afghanistan will be uncertain. In conclusion Afghanistan was once a fragile country and now has proven to be more fragile since constant wars have plagued the nation. If Afghanistan does not use the international resources that it is given to provide economic security then the country will prove to be a definite failure. If there are no improvements to the economic and social situation of Afghanistan, security and safety alone will not bring peace to the country and its people. Security is a fundamental condition for the Afghan government, local and foreign NGOs, and Afghan people to work to build a better Afghanistan for future generations. However, political, social and economic stability is needed to sustain security in Afghanistan. It is crucial to involve citizens in regenerating and revitalizing their own lives and finding new opportunities through ‘economic, social and institutional reforms’. (Salih Dogan, 2014)