Blakemore - Key Idea 4

Question 1

Some brief history of Afghanistan

Answer 1

• 1919 Declare independence from the British
• 1953 General Daud becomes prime minister. Turns to the Soviet Union for economic and military assistance.
• 1963 Daud is forced to resign as prime minister.
• 1979 Soviet army invades and props up the communist government.
• 1985 Mujahideen come together in Pakistan to form an alliance against Soviet forces. Half the population are estimated to be displaced by the war.

Question 2

When did the Soviets leave Afghanistan and what happened afterwards?

Answer 2

1989 - The last Soviet troops leave, but civil war continues as the Mujahideen push to overthrow Najibullah.
1996 - The Taliban seize control of Kabul and introduce a hardline version of Islam.
2005 - The first parliamentary poll for over 30 years.

Question 3

What the Afghanistan National Solidarity Programme (NSP)

Answer 3

• A large scale rural reconstruction and development programme.
• An initiative by the Afghan government.
• Aims to rehabilitate and develop around 5,000 Afghan villages.
• Funded by $600 million provided by the International Development Association of the World Bank and the Afghanistan reconstruction fund.
• World Bank president estimates the economic rate of return is 20%.

Question 4

What are some of NSP projects?

Answer 4

Drinking water projects to increase access to clean drinking water.
- The programme resulted in a 15% higher usage of
protected sources at the endline.
- Reduced time spent collecting water (has no lasting
impact on water shortages or perceived quality).

Question 5

What was the objective of the NSP?

Answer 5

To build, strengthen and maintain community developed councils (CDC’s) as effective institutions for local governance and socio-economic development.

Question 6

Has the NSP been successful?

Answer 6

• Under the model, NSP has built schools for thousands of children, constructed village water pumps that save many hours of labour and assembled irrigation networks that have enabled higher agricultural yields.
• More than 12,000 village development councils have been elected.
• More than 19,000 project plans have been approved, with nearly half already complete.

Question 7

How has the NSP been implemented?

Answer 7

• The NSP project cycle is broken down into 5 steps each taking 2 years to complete.
• A fair and transparent election process to elect members of the locally governing community development council (CDC).
• Elected CDC members decide on the CDC president, deputy etc.
• Elected CDC members consult directly with members of the community to reach a consensus list of subproject ideas.

Question 8

Has the NSP been implemented successfully?

Answer 8

• Under the programme modest grants are given to CDC’s who identify local priorities and implement small scale development projects.
• The NSP is the only government programme functioning in all 34 provinces.
• It has affected nearly two thirds of the Afghan population.
• Women constitute 35% of the CDC representatives.

Question 9

What social problems does Afghanistan face?

Answer 9

• 1 in 5 children die before the age of 5 (Highest globally)
• Every 30 minutes an Afghan woman dies during child birth.
• 87% of women are illiterate
• Women have a life expectancy of 44
• 80% of women face forced marriage
• Kabul is largely without electricity since 1994 (when the Taliban came in).