Country Update ISSUE 051 O C T. 2017 “ The rehabilitation of major roads in Kabul city by KUTEI is breathing a new lease of life into surrounding neighborhoods. ” page 40 page 4 page 6 page 28 page 30 world bank ongoing international afghanistan group support operations finance reconstruction corporation trust fund / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/3 CONTENTS ongoing 14 results Policy Actions NEWS operations ‘To improve to Address world bank page 6-27 Afghanistan’s future’ Learning Crisis world bank: an agenda for inclusive group support page 4 -5 page 6 growth in afghanistan education and training The World Development Report The World Bank presented options to sti- zing Afghanistan’s long-term growth page 4 recommends three policy actions mulate growth against the backdrop of potential. It noted substantial poten- World Bank projects and page 7 to address the crisis: difficult security conditions in Afghanis- tial for growth, job creation, poverty programs financial sector tan at the side event of the Senior Offi- reduction, and revenue in areas such as 1. Assess learning to make cials meeting on October 5, 2017, in Kabul. agriculture and agribusiness and extrac- International Finance page 10 The presentation called for measures tives. It pointed out that fiscal and eco- it a serious goal Corporation health to boost domestic aggregate demand. nomic measures would have limited 22 results Countries need to put in place a Multilateral Investment Key recommendations included impro- impacts without larger investment in page 13 ‘National Solidarity range of well-designed student ving budget execution, re-allocating human capital and continued efforts Guarantee Agency infrastructure Programme’ assessments to help teachers public spending toward labor-intensive, to enhance state effectiveness. To this guide students, improve system community-based programs; increasing end, it will be critical that international page 5 page 20 management, and focus society’s spending for basic service delivery; partners ensure that Brussels aid com- Country Partnership rural development attention on learning. and implementing reforms to promote mitments will be met and more aid is Framework, 2017-2020 private investment. delivered on budget. Afghanistan page 25 The World Bank also underscored the c The presentation is available at: 2. Act on evidence to make Reconstruction Trust Fund social safety net need to prioritize investments in reali- http://wrld.bg/tplZ30fJvms schools work for learners Japan Social page 26 Countries can use existing evidence Development Fund urban development to close the gap and make schools world development report: work better by focusing on three key areas: prepared learners; skilled, learning to realize education’s promise motivated teachers; and inputs and The World Development Report 2018, lities in learning outcomes are high; released on September 27, 2017, has ( ) immediate causes, in which children management focused on teaching highlighted the learning crisis in low- arrive in school unprepared to learn, tea- international finance and learning. and middle-income countries, where chers often lack the skills or motivation corporation millions of children, especially from to teach effectively, inputs fail to reach page 28-29 3. Align actors to make poor families, are not learning in spite classrooms or impact learning, and poor the whole system work of being in school. This does not include management and governance that un- for learning children from disadvantaged groups dermine schooling quality; and ( ) dee- Countries can escape low-learning who are most likely to be out of school. per systemic causes, in which technical 38 results The report argues that without lear- and political challenges keep low-lear- results 42 afghanistan ‘Higher Education traps by acting on three fronts as they implement reforms: deploy ning, education will fail to deliver on its ning systems trapped in low accounta- ‘Rebuilt Arterial Roads’ reconstruction trust Development’ promise to eliminate extreme poverty bility and high inequality. fund information and metrics to make and create shared opportunity and pros- The community-based school pro- page 30-50 learning politically salient; build perity for all. gram in Afghanistan was cited as an coalitions to shift political incentives Calling schooling without learning example where the building of schools page 32 toward learning for all; and use “a great injustice”, the report identifies and partnership with the local commu- ongoing projects innovative and adaptive approaches three main dimensions to the crisis: nities have led to increased enrollment to find out which approaches work ( ) poor learning outcomes, in which low and improved access to school and lear- best in their context. levels of learning are occurring not only ning outcomes, especially for girls. in the poorest countries, but also in some c The full report is available at: http://www. middle-income countries, while inequa- worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018 4/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/5 WORLD BANK GROUP SUPPORT Country Partnership World Bank projects budget support operations. It has advocated building capacity and legitimacy of the state, supporting the Investment program in access to finance, Small and Medium Enterprises Framework, tial loss layer to insure investment projects in Japan Social difficult contexts. This facility could be used to and programs and channeling donor resources through the (SMEs) capacity development, job creation, 2017–2020 boost the agencies’ exposure in Afghanistan. Development Fund government to ensure investments are alig- strengthening horticulture export, access Since April 2002, the World Bank’s Interna- ned with national priorities. To this end, the to renewable energy, corporate governance The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) tional Development Association (IDA) has World Bank works closely with other multi- structure enhancement, and investment cli- The World Bank Group’s current Afghanistan was established by the Government of Japan committed over $3.73 billion for develop- lateral and bilateral agencies across a num- mate reform interventions. engagement with Afghanistan Reconstruction in 2000 as a means of supporting activities ment and emergency reconstruction pro- ber of sectors where aid coordination and c For more information: see page 28. over 2017–2020 is determined by that directly respond to the needs of poor jects, and six budget support operations in government ownership are most critical. the Country Partnership Frame- Trust Fund and vulnerable groups, enhance their capaci- Afghanistan. This support comprises over c For information about completed projects: Multilateral work (CPF) strategy, which is close- The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund ties, and strengthen their empowerment and $3.30 billion in grants and $436.4 million www.worldbank.org.af – Projects & participation in the development process. The in no-interest loans known as ‘credits’. The Programs. Investment ly aligned with the government’s (ARTF) is a partnership between the interna- fund is administered by the World Bank. Bank has 15 active IDA projects in Afgha- Guarantee Agency Afghanistan National Peace and tional community and Government of Afgha- nistan (GoA) to improve effectiveness of the The Government of Japan and the World nistan with net commitment value of over $1.6 billion. International Development Framework. reconstruction effort. As of July 22, 2017, 34 Bank agreed to set up a special window wit- hin JSDF to support activities in Afghanistan The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Since the adoption of the Afghanistan Na- Finance Corporation Agency (MIGA) has $116.5 million of gross The World Bank Group strategy donors have contributed over $10 billion, under a multi-year program of assistance for tional Peace and Development Framework exposure for three projects in Afghanistan. aims to help Afghanistan: making the ARTF the largest contributor to the country’s reconstruction and transition to- (ANPDF), the World Bank’s engagement has The International Finance Corporation (IFC), • Build strong and accountable the Afghan budget—for both operating costs ward political, economic, and social stability. MTN is a joint effort with IFC in the country’s become increasingly programmatic. Under- the World Bank Group’s private sector deve- and development programs. As of September 2017, JSDF’s total commit- critical telecommunication sector. The other institutions to support the pinned by advisory work, both policy and lopment arm, continues to work with its The ARTF’s support for National Priority ment had reached $85 million. A number of two projects support dairy and cashmere investment lending focus on the main enga- investment and advisory service partners in government’s state-building Programs (NPPs), operating costs of govern- production. JSDF-financed projects have been completed. gement clusters: macro-fiscal management Afghanistan. IFC’s cumulative committed Among MIGA’s global priorities for FY objectives and enable the state ment operations, and the policy reform agen- c For more information: and institution building, stimulating private portfolio stood at $52 million as of end-FY 2018–2021 are support for Foreign Direct to fulfil its core mandate to deli- da is contributing to the achievement of the http://go.worldbank.org/U5OQZVF200 n investments and growth to create jobs, 2017 and its advisory services portfolio stood Investment (FDI) with high developmen- ANPDF goals. More than $4.5 billion has been ver basic services to its citizens, disbursed to the government to help cover governance and anti-corruption, human at $8.8 million. IFC’s Investment portfolio tal impact in IDA countries and fragile and capital development and service delivery, includes investments in the telecommunica- conflict affected situations. Afghanistan is a and create an enabling environ- recurrent costs, such as civil servants’ salaries, citizen engagement and gender equality, tion sector and financial markets. The invest- key country for MIGA in terms of delivering ment for the private sector; and over $4.6 billion had been made avai- as well as urbanization, infrastructure, and ment pipeline looks promising and includes on these objectives. • Support inclusive growth, with lable, both for closed and active investment connectivity. further investments in the financial markets In 2013, MIGA launched its ‘Conflict Affec- projects. As of July 22, 2017, 27 projects are a focus on lagging areas and ur- active under the ARTF with net commitment The Bank has actively supported key re- as well as investments in the power sector ted and Fragile Economies Facility’ that uses forms, particularly in the fiscal and public and agribusiness. donor partner contributions and guarantees ban informal settlements; and value of $3.3 billion. administration spheres, and through its IFC’s Advisory Services program has been as well as MIGA guarantees to provide an ini- • Deepen social inclusion through c For more information: see page 30. improved human development outcomes and reduced vulnera- bility amongst the most under- privileged sections of society, including the large numbers of internally displaced persons and returnees. 6/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/7 ONGOING OPERATIONS / education and training the high standard of teaching and learning at the institute. The share of female ben- Afghanistan Second eficiaries in project-supported institutes increased from 21 to 23 percent, while the Skills Development share of those enrolled in 2016 was 44 per- Project (ASDP II) cent as a result of targeted efforts by ASDP. Component 3: The project supports a cIDA grant $55 million “challenge fund” scheme to identify and The project supports the Government of scale up good practices in TVET schools and Afghanistan in its strategy to build mar- institutes. To date, over 35 institutes have ket relevant vocational and technical skills benefited from two rounds of a Recognition for economic growth and development. Grant, while an additional eight institutes Building on the ongoing Afghanistan Skills have been selected for a Development Development Project, this program will con- Grant, which supports reforms to improve tinue to strengthen the Technical Vocational academic management, school administra- Education Training (TVET) institutional sys- tion, linkages with local industries, and cur- tem, improve performance of TVET schools riculum revision. In addition, over 522 TVET and institutes, and improve teacher compe- graduates have been supported with schol- tencies. The project has been restructured, arships through a voucher program, which effective July 2017, to reemphasize its focus facilitates further professional studies for on the development objective of improving meritorious students who have graduated TVET teacher competencies and curriculum from TVET institutes. in selected priority trades. To support technical teacher training un- Component 1: The project has made der Component 3, an in-service Technical significant progress in strengthening the Teacher Training Institute (TTTI) was estab- TVET institutional framework. In addi- lished in 2013.To date, 790 technical teach- tion to developing an overarching TVET ers have received training at the TTTI to strategy, 100 National Occupational Skills improve their technical competencies and Standards (NOSS) have been benchmarked pedagogical skills. to an international level with the support Component 4: The fourth component fi- of an international certification agency, and nances technical assistance for the skills This well-equipped workshop in the only corresponding curricula developed for 15 team, costs of third party monitoring and / financial sector technical and vocational trades. ASDP has laid the groundwork for evaluation, and a public awareness cam- high school in Panjshir an assessment and certification system for paign. The project has also established a Province has helped attract students from all over Project Management Information System, TVET graduates, and, in partnership with the International Labour Organization, about 30 which provides real time updates on all the province. “We have good equipment here Access to Finance ‘master’ assessors have been trained in com- aspects of project implementation (pro- curement, financial management, human for practical exercises,’’ says a 12th grader, “and Project petency assessment methods, and seven as- as we put the theories resources, civil work, student enrollment, cIDA grant $50 million sessment centers identified. into practice, we learn Component 2: ASDP supports the im- and graduation). and understand much The Access to Finance Project aims to build better.” Support from proved performance of selected TVET schools ASDP has enabled the institutional capacity to improve access and institutes, such as the National Institute school to provide hands-on to credit of micro, small, and medium en- experience to its students of Management and Administration (NIMA), terprises. The project has the following and improve the quality of where students pursue a two-year business education. components: program equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree. Component 1: Improving access to finan- NIMA has been accredited by an interna- cial services for micro and small enterprises. tional body (the Accreditation Council for This component aims to provide continuing Business Schools and Programs), recognizing support to the microfinance sector through Country Update/ ongoing operations 8/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/9 Initial results from the baseline survey of The project was restructured and a first the impact evaluation component show that additional financing to the project ($6.7 the TUP selection process was able to iden- million) supported selected technical as- tify households that—across a range of di- sistance activities originally financed under mensions—were worse off than the average the Financial Sector Strengthening Project, resident in target areas, and arguably more which closed in June 2014. The additional in need of support. Overall, the very high ob- financing targeted activities to strengthen served poverty rates and low access to ser- DAB’s capacity and the establishment of a vices highlight the important challenges that Public Credit Registry. these households face and how the program The audits of the 10 commercial banks may help to shift them closer to sustainable were completed in June 2012. livelihoods. Implementation in the Kabul and A Movable Collateral Registry and a Public Kandahar provinces has recently started. Credit Registry are now fully operational. The Component 2 has not yet started as dis- Movable Collateral Registry, established in cussions are ongoing between the Ministry February 2013, and the Public Credit Registry, of Finance and the Afghanistan Credit launched in December 2013, are key build- Guarantee Foundation for an agreement to ing blocks in the infrastructure of the Afghan be signed. financial system. Having both systems fully functional has streamlined SME applications for banking loans and supported banks’ lend- Afghanistan Financial ing decisions. Sector Rapid Establishment of the national card and mobile payment switch has been finalized Response Project under the Afghanistan Payment System that cIDA Grant $45.7 million was officially inaugurated by the DAB gov- ernor on April 26, 2016. The procurement The project is assisting the Da Afghanistan process for development of the Automated Bank (DAB) to develop a set of action plans Transfer System (ATS) was completed and the The Targeting the Ultra to improve banking supervision and imple- contract was awarded to the recommended Poor program, under the ment a modern payment system for effi- firm on April 15, 2016. ATS will modernize the Access to Finance project, cient and transparent payment transactions. has given destitute national payment system for efficient and families an opportunity Specifically, the project aims to allow DAB to transparent payment transactions. The new to sustain themselves accurately assess the financial situation of 10 payments infrastructure and its subcompo- by providing them with the Microfinance Investment Support Facility port the expansion of the Afghanistan Credit commercial banks through audits conducted livestock and a monthly nents will enhance financial intermediation for Afghanistan (MISFA), as well as, support- Guarantee Facility, and provide technical as- in accordance with international standards. stipend. Hundreds of and enable safety and efficiency of the finan- families have seen a ing MISFA to take on a broader role as a cata- sistance to commercial banks to strengthen The audits will lead to the development of cial system. significant and sustainable lyst for innovations to increase access and their SME lending capacity. This component action plans to address weaknesses that are change to their economic A second additional financing ($20 mil- usage of financial services from the lower will include support to the Credit Guarantee identified, with oversight from DAB. situation as a result. lion) was approved in October 2016. Under “Thanks to the program, end of the market according to its new stra- Facility to provide coverage to MFI lending to The project also aims to modernize the the additional financing, a new core banking my situation has changed tegic plan. It should, however, be underlined the lower end of the SME market. national payment system with the goal of re- completely. The cow is the system will be in place to enable DAB to bet- that the role of MISFA is primarily that of Component 1 is under implementation ducing the use of cash transactions, the main best blessing in my life,” ter manage the sector’s risk and strengthen says a beneficiary. market facilitator, rather than direct techni- and MISFA has initiated a series of activities, means of making payments in Afghanistan, its oversight. There will be more focus to in- cal assistance provider. in particular the scaling up of the Targeting and transitioning to electronic, card or mo- vest in DAB staff capacity to enhance the ef- Component 2: Improving access to finan- the Ultra Poor (TUP) Program. Under the TUP bile payments. The project will also provide fectiveness of its regulatory capacity. cial services for SMEs. The aim is to increase program, a 100 percent distribution of as- further support to the Afghanistan Institute commercial bank and microfinance institu- sets (livestock) to beneficiaries was achieved of Banking and Finance (AIBF) to allow it to tion (MFI) lending to SMEs and thus facilitate in four provinces (Balkh, Kunar, Laghman, scale up its activities, in order to increase the their access to financial services. It will sup- and Takhar). availability of banking sector skills. Country Update/ ongoing operations 10/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/11 Afghanistan: • Refinement of the PPP pipeline in line with Health Indicators the government’s national development Public-Private and planning priorities. on Positive Trend Partnership (PPP) To date, CPA has been established as the cen- tral PPP champion within the MoF and the Support Program PPP law has been enhanced. under-five and infant mortality rate dropped cPublic-Private Infrastructure Advisory to 55 and 45 per 1,000 live births Facility Grant $850,000 / health from 257 and 165, respectively. The World Bank, funded by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), has been providing technical assistance to the System Enhancement Number of functioning Ministry of Finance (MoF) since 2015 to im- for Health Action in health facilities increased to more than 2,400 in 2016 from prove the enabling environment for PPPs in Afghanistan. Transition (SEHAT) 496 in 2002, while at the same The first phase of PPIAF support, from Program time the proportion of facilities September 2015 to December 2016, focused IDA Grant $100 million c with female staff increased. on supporting the MoF to develop an effec- ARTF Grant $517 million c tive PPP program that would promote and Government of Afghanistan c sustain the necessary enabling environ- Births attended by skilled $30 million ment to facilitate the identification, develop- c Multi Donor fund for health results health personnel among ment, and implementation of PPP projects the lowest income quintile that could support the Government of innovation $7 million increased to 50,5 percent from Afghanistan’s national infrastructure devel- The program aims to expand the scope, opment strategy. 15.6 percent. quality, and coverage of health services pro- To support this objective, activities were vided to the population, particularly for the designed around three distinct areas: poor, and to enhance the Ministry of Public PENTA3 immunization • Diagnostic of current enabling environ- Health’s (MoPH) stewardship functions. coverage more than ment, followed by clear recommendations The project supports the provision of basic doubled (a combination of five on modifications required to improve the health and essential hospital services in both vaccines in one covering polio, legal/regulatory/institutional framework rural and urban areas. It also strengthens the to support/facilitate PPPs; national health system and MoPH’s capacity diphtheria, Pertussis, tetanus, • Pipeline prioritization and feasibility work at central and provincial levels. haemophilus influenzae type b, Some health centers in Kandahar Province are to identify priority pilot projects and un- The project includes the following three and hepatitis B) , from 29 percent seeing an increase in dertake two pre-feasibility studies on the components: to 69 percent among children female patients as a result pharmaceuticals; working with the private of community campaigns identified projects; and Component 1: Sustaining and improving aged 12 to 23 months in the to raise public awareness sector; enhancing capacity for improved hos- • Capacity building and training workshops the basic package of health services and and increase trust in pital performance; strengthening human lowest income quintile. health care services. The to build understanding and support for the essential package of hospital services; and resources for health; governance and social campaigns are part of government’s new PPP program. supporting the implementation of these the efforts of the SEHAT accountability; strengthening the Health Following the first phase, a second phase services through performance-based part- Contraceptive prevalence Program, which include Information System and use of information began in July 2017, with the objective to fur- nership agreements between MoPH and rate increased (using any recruiting women health technology; strengthening health promotion professionals to meet the ther support the government to develop the nongovernmental organizations, which will modern method) to 19.8 percent needs of female patients and behavioral change; mainstreaming gen- legal and institutional framework for PPPs in deliver health services as defined in these from 19.5 percent. and help address maternal der into Afghanistan’s health system; devel- Afghanistan. packages. and infant mortality. oping capacity for procurement delivery; and To support this objective, activities have Component 2: Building the steward- improving fiduciary systems. been designed around two distinct areas: ship capacity of MoPH and system de- Component 3: Strengthening program • Institutional strengthening through the velopment by supporting the following management by supporting and financing preparation of a PPP Country Readiness thematic areas: strengthening subnational costs associated with system development Diagnostic, a business plan for the Central government; strengthening the healthcare and stewardship functions of MoPH, includ- Partnerships Authority (CPA), and PPP financing directorate; developing regulatory ing incremental operating costs at central Guidelines; and systems and capacities for ensuring quality and provincial levels and technical assistance. Country Update/ ongoing operations 12/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/13 The Afghan health system has made con- nectivity and enable more users to access siderable progress during the past decade high quality mobile and Internet services. It thanks to strong government leadership, also helps mainstream the use of mobile ap- sound public health policies, innovative ser- plications to improve public service delivery vice delivery, careful program monitoring and program management in strategic gov- and evaluation, and development assistance. ernment sectors. The project helps develop Data from household surveys (between 2003 the local IT industry by expanding the pool and 2011) show significant declines in mater- of skilled and qualified IT professionals, and nal and child mortality. supporting the incubation of ICT companies Despite significant improvements in the in Afghanistan. coverage and quality of health services, as Major milestones under the project include well as a drop in maternal, infant, and under- progress in constructing optical fiber cable five mortality, Afghanistan health indicators with about 1,000 km completed. The deploy- are still worse than the average for low-in- ment of the fiber optical backbone network come countries, indicating a need to further in the North-East section was completed and decrease barriers for women in accessing handed over to Afghan Telecom (Aftel). services. Work on the central route to Yakawlang Afghanistan also has one of the high- Kunar, Kapisa, Ghulam Khan Office, and est levels of child malnutrition in the world. Bamiyan–Mazar-e-Sharif routes has been About 41 percent of children under five suffer completed and final handing over to Aftel is from chronic malnutrition, and both women in progress. and children suffer from high levels of vita- A total of 2,300 Afghans (over 400 women) min and mineral deficiencies. has been trained under the IT skills develop- The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has ment program. Job fairs for 1,500 successful fallen significantly from 1,600 per 100,000 live trainees have been held. births in 2002. The Afghanistan Demographic The m-Government service delivery plat- More than 2,000 Afghans, Health Survey (ADHS) 2015 undertaken by form (Mobile Platform) was soft launched including over 400 the Central Statistics Organization, with women, have been trained on Afghan Telecom’s network. Select m- funding support from USAID, indicated a under the Afghanistan Government application and services are ICT Sector Development MMR estimate of 1,290 per 100,000 live expected to be launched by the Ministry Project. The project is births. The ADHS, however, notes that the supporting the local IT of Communications and Information MMR estimate seems to be an overestimate. industry by expanding / infrastructure Technology (MoCIT) through all GSM/3G the pool of skilled and The United Nations Maternal Mortality Inter- operators for selected ministries by October qualified IT professionals. Agency Estimation Working Group will con- sider the available data to come up with the Afghanistan 2017 after the signing of MoUs between the mobile network operators and the ministries. best estimate for MMR. Information and The platform allows any citizen with a mo- The current estimate seems inconsistent with the significant increases in coverage of Communication bile phone to access a set of public services. Two rounds of the Innovation Support skilled birth attendance (currently 50.5 per- Technologies (ICT) Program awarded 15 local innovators for cent up from 15.6 percent in 2003), improved quality of care as shown by frequent health Sector Development their ideas on how mobile technologies could help address challenges in various sectors, in- facility surveys, improved physical access to Project cluding agriculture, education, and health. services (a fourfold increase in the number of The ICT business incubator complex has IDA Grant $50 million c facilities since 2002), and progress on other been constructed in the ICT Institute area of related impact indicators (e.g., under-five The project builds on the success of ear- MoCIT and 20 start-up business entities have mortality rate has declined to 55 per 1,000 lier projects and catalyzes the next phase of undergone training programs in the complex live births) in the ADHS. Other survey-based ICT development in the country. It supports to date. Under the Capacity Building Program estimates also put the MMR significantly policy and regulatory reforms and strategic of MoCIT, 400 ministry staff members have lower than 1,290. infrastructure investment to expand con- been trained so far. Country Update/ ongoing operations 14/  results to improve afghanistan’s future Youth Gain Information and Communication Skills • Young men and women interested in information and communication technology (ICT) are being identified and trained to meet the coming needs of the ICT sector in Afghanistan. • The training is part of the plan under the Afghanistan ICT Sector Development Project to encourage start-ups, innovation, and use of technology. • The project supports the overall development of the ICT sector in Afghanistan. T en young men are engrossed in their screens, hard at work at MSoft Technologies, a newly established Afghan Information and Commu- nication Technology (ICT) company in Kabul city. They are developing different programs and software for a range of domestic and international clients. In a corner sits Ahmad Shah Mohammadi, 29, one of the men responsible for setting up MSoft Technologies. “When I graduated from university in 2014, I and three of my classmates had an idea to establish our own com- pany, but at that time it was just a dream for us,” says Ahmad Shah. “I now run my own company.” MSoft Technologies is one of 22 companies that have received support from the Afghanistan ICT Sector Deve- lopment Project under the Ministry of Communication, Information and Technology (MoCIT). The project trains young Afghans on all aspects of ICT business manage- ment. The target beneficiary pool is Afghan youth who want to deepen their knowledge of ICT and who are in- searching for a job and struggling in 2014. With support terested in setting up IT companies. from the MoCIT project, I am now creating jobs in my “ “We received training on business planning, manage- own company. This is a big achievement for me and my ment systems, administration, and marketing, enabling country,” Ahmad Shah says. us to run our own private IT company,” says Ahmad Shah. am now With support from the MoCIT project, I His company joins a market that is developing, with a Training Pays Off whole range of IT start-ups coming up in Kabul. Since 2013, the project has trained more than 2,000 wo- ” creating jobs in my own company. Ahmad Shah’s company provides a range of services men and men. Mehri Najeem is one such student who to over 300 national and international organizations did a four-month long database training. “It was a good across Afghanistan from different sectors, including go- opportunity for women like me as we received training This is a big achievement for me and my country. vernment, education, health, corporations, nongovern- related to our fields. The curriculum was quite different mental organizations, and banks. “We have developed and the training approach was very efficient,” she says. different programs and software, like financial mana- “The training was good and helped me find a job, which I –Ahmad Shah, founder of an IT start-up, Kabul city gement systems, archives data management, human would not have been able to otherwise.” resource system, invitation and visa processing system, The project has literally handheld Afghan youth who to name a few. We also work on website and branding want to be a part of the ICT industry, and those who graphics,” he says. received support from the project are now helping Ahmad Shah started his company with a small team to meet the demands of the industry in Afghanistan. of four men. With training and business management Although the ICT industry is new in Afghanistan and support from the ICT project, they were able to expand need traction, it may soon emerge to be a key source of and hire more people. “If I think about my past, I was economic growth. Country Update/ ongoing operations 16/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/17 Afghanistan Strategic Grain Reserve Project IDA Grant $20.3 million c JSDF Grant $9.7 million c The project will enable the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock to estab- lish a strategic wheat reserve to be available to Afghan households to meet their needs following emergency situations and improve the efficiency of grain storage management. The project will upgrade two existing storage facilities, build four new large facili- ties, and establish the required institutional infrastructure to manage the reserve. It is estimated that by end of this five-year pro- ject, the overall storage capacity for wheat will reach 200,000 metric tons, sufficient for the consumption of 2 million Afghans for six months. In addition to the World Bank support, $11.45 million is expected to be provided by the Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund. Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and The Afghanistan Strategic Grain Reserve Project will Trade Project help Afghan households meet their needs during (CASA-1000) emergencies., It is expected that the overall and Development Bank (ARDB), the Islamic neering design, construction, and commis- Afghanistan is expected to connect more IDA Grant/Credit $526.5 million c storage capacity for wheat will reach 200,000 metric Development Bank (IDB), European Bank for sioning of transmission lines and two new households and businesses to the power grid The Central Asia South Asia Electricity tons, sufficient for the Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), converter stations. The power generation by importing 300 MW of electricity through consumption of 2 million United States Government, United Kingdom stations that provide the energy to be traded CASA-1000. Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000), Afghans for six months covering Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic, by end of this five-year Department for International Development over CASA-1000, including Toktogul in Kyrgyz (DABS), Afghanistan’s electricity company, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, will put in place the project. (DfID), and United States Agency for Republic and Nurek in Tajikistan, are already and the Ministry of Energy and Water will im- commercial and institutional arrangements International Development (USAID). in place plement Afghanistan’s portion of this project, as well as the infrastructure required for CASA-1000 will build more than 1,200 Of the total project financing, Afghanistan including a Security Management Plan for 1,300 megawatts (MW) of sustainable elec- kilometers (km) of electricity transmission will receive $316.5 million in the form of an both the construction and operation phase. tricity trade. lines for associated sub-stations to transmit IDA grant. The grant will support construc- The total project cost is estimated at $1.17 excess summer hydropower energy from ex- tion of about 560 km of overhead transmis- billion and several other development part- isting power generation stations in Tajikistan sion line to connect the electricity network ners are providing financing for CASA-1000, and the Kyrgyz Republic to Pakistan and via the northern and eastern provinces of including the Afghanistan Reconstruction Afghanistan. The project finances the engi- Afghanistan. Country Update/ ongoing operations 18/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/19 financing effective from July 2016, IRDP en- clearance depots (ICDs); continued refurbish- visages support to rehabilitate irrigation sys- ment, rehabilitation, or new construction of tems serving some 217,000 hectares of land selected customs infrastructure; provision and design of a limited number of small mul- of technical assistance and capacity building ti-purpose dams and related works, while in key areas essential to introducing mod- establishing hydro-meteorological facilities ern approaches to customs administration; and services. improved mechanisms for cooperation with Progress had been made in all areas. In customs administrations of neighboring the irrigation component, a total of 162 ir- countries; and further improvement of sys- rigation schemes has been rehabilitated, tems for monitoring customs performance covering over 165,000 hectares of irrigation through the use of an automated executive command area (compared to the end project dashboard and alerts mechanism. target of 215,000 hectares and over 267,000 The additional grant also supports pre- farmer households). liminary work for the design of a Trade In the small dam component, a prefeasi- Information Portal (TIP) and National Single bility review of 22 small dams resulted in a Window (NSW) system, and the development feasibility study being conducted on the six of a national training curriculum and prepa- best ranked dams in the northern river basin ration of relevant training materials. (which is not on international rivers). A de- The ASYCUDA World Declaration Processing tailed social and environmental study will be System (DPS) is now operational in 13 cus- carried out. toms sites. The ASYCUDA World International In the hydro-met component, installation Transit module is operational in seven main of 127 hydrological stations and 56 snow and corridors, ASYCUDA Risk-management mod- meteorological stations located in various lo- ule in 10 ICDs, ASYCUDA Valuation Control in cations on the five river basins in the country seven ICDs, and the Entry-Exit control module is ongoing. In addition, 40 cableway stations operational in four customs sites. for flow measurement at selected hydrology Customs-to-Customs Cooperation Agree- stations have been installed. ments between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and Iran and Afghanistan have been signed. Real time data exchange between Afghan The rehabilitation of irrigation canals Additional Financing and Tajik Customs was set up, tested, and undertaken by IRDP is resulting in significant for Second Customs went live in Tajikistan in February 2016. ACD has also started negotiations with the United increases in agricultural output and encouraging Herat Electrification and solar-hybrid mini-grids in villages that Reform and Trade Arab Emirates and Turkish Customs to sign villagers to invest in the new infrastructure. The Project are unlikely to obtain grid electricity in less than five years. Facilitation Project similar cooperation agreements. Infrastructure development was complet- project is supporting the rehabilitation of IDA Grant $60 million c (SCRTFP) ed successfully, with 10 large and 21 smaller civil works-related contracts completed, in- irrigation systems serving some 300,000 The project aims to support DABS to provide Irrigation Restoration IDA Grant $21.5 million c cluding a new Customs House at Khost, and hectares of land across the country. electricity to some 230,800 households, and and Development The additional financing bridges the financ- improvements to Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar 1,600 institutions and businesses in selected ing gap in the ongoing SCRTFP to achieve the and Nimroz Customs Houses. areas in Herat Province. Project (IRDP) project development objective more fully and The amendment to articles pertaining to The project will support investments for (i) IDA Grant $97.8 million c support the government in finalizing its long- enforcement in the Customs Act has been building a new 110 kV transmission line and term priorities for customs and trade facilita- finalized and approved by the President of ARTF Grant $118.4 million c four 110/20 kV substations, and medium and tion reform. the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan through Government Funds $3.5 million c low voltage distribution networks in four dis- In parallel, the additional grant also will a legal decree. The Tashkeel (organizational tricts of Herat Province; (ii) extension, inten- The project builds upon and scales up activi- help finance the costs associated with scal- structure) of 1395 of ACD (which includes the sification, and upgrading the existing grid to ties supported under the completed World ing up the necessary activities for preparing Customs Law Enforcement Directorate) was provide access to new or improved electricity Bank-financed Emergency Irrigation Reha- the next phase of the project. These activities approved by the Directorate of Administrative service to other parts of Herat Province; and bilitation Project, closed in December 2012. include continued rollout of automation to Reforms and Civil Services Commission. (iii) piloted construction of solar mini-grids After project restructuring and additional the remaining border crossings and inland The implementation plan for setting up an Country Update/ongoing operations 20/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/21 enforcement wing is under review. The trans- Afghanistan Rural This bridge in a remote mountainous valley of fer and deployment of officers in the enforce- ment department has already started and Enterprise Panjshir Province has transformed the lives of the teams have undergone short-term capac- Development Project inhabitants, shortening commuting time to ity building courses at the Afghan National Customs Academy. Special training for (AREDP) essential services and allowing cars, instead of Customs Police is ongoing at the Academy. pack animals, to transport c IDA Grant $28.4 million people and goods to and c ARTF Grant $6.2 million from the valley. The bridge, built under ARAP, enables / rural development AREDP aims to enhance economic mo- hundreds of families to access healthcare, markets, bilization and activities by organizing the and schools throughout rural poor into Savings Groups (SGs), Village Afghanistan Rural Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs) and the year. Access Project (ARAP) Enterprise Groups. The project provides tech- nical support to these groups so as to build c IDA Grant $125 million a financial discipline through savings and c ARTF Grant $312 million internal lending practices, and technical sup- ARAP aims to enable rural communities port to enterprises. across Afghanistan to benefit from improved To date, the program has established close access to basic services and facilities through to 5,190 Savings Groups with a member- all-weather roads. The project is expected to ship of some 60,700 rural poor (54 percent increase the number of people living within women) in 694 villages. The SGs have saved 2 kilometers (km) of all-season roads, reduce over $4.2 million and members have ac- travel time to essential services, and enable cessed more than 41,900 internal loans (64 rural communities to access essential servic- percent by female members) for productive es more frequently. and emergency purposes with a repayment As of September 2017, construction of 600 rate of 95 percent. km of secondary gravel roads, 235 km of sec- To generate economies of scale, 505 Village ondary asphalt roads, and 1,300 km of ter- Savings & Loan Associations have also been tiary roads has been completed. In addition, established as federations of the SGs, and are 1,400 linear meters of secondary bridges and maintaining accurate and up-to-date records 1,600 linear meters of tertiary bridges have of accounts with good governance structure been built. In the meantime, routine main- in place. On average each VSLA has $5,780 as tenance of 1,300 secondary roads and period loan-able capital, which is further boosted enterprise development skills and produc- which introduced a community-driven de- maintenance of 500 km of secondary roads with a seed grant injection. This improves tivity. AREDP uses Community Development velopment approach toward rural infra- were undertaken. Routine maintenance of access to finance for group members who Councils as an entry point into communities structure and service delivery and reached 1,500 km of tertiary road and period mainte- would like to increase productivity or engage and is currently working in 24 districts of about 35,000 communities over the past nance of 3,570 km of tertiary road were also in entrepreneurial activities but cannot ac- five provinces: Parwan, Bamyan, Nangarhar, 14 years. It is expected to be implemented completed. Rollout of the first nationwide cess such funds from commercial banks or Balkh, and Herat. Expected CCAP Results over a period of four years. The project will inventory and condition survey of rural roads microfinance institutions. Results expected under the first phase of the CCAP include : support the first phase of the Government AREDP also works toward strengthening of Afghanistan’s 10-year Citizens’ Charter has been completed.. market linkages and value chains for rural Citizens’ Charter • 8.5 million Afghans reached. National Program, and will target one third enterprises by providing technical support to Afghanistan Project • 3.4 million people gaining access to clean drinking water. of the country. 1,336 Enterprise Groups (63 percent female) The objective of CCAP is to improve the and 657 (15 percent female) small and me- (CCAP) • Improvements to quality of service delivery in health, delivery of core infrastructure and social ser- education, rural roads, and electrification. dium enterprises that have been selected for c IDA Grant $100 million vices to participating communities through their potential as key drivers of rural employ- c ARTF Grant $400 million • Increase in citizen satisfaction and trust in government. strengthened Community Development ment and income generation. • 35 percent returnon investment for infrastructure projects. Councils. These services are part of a mini- c Government of Afghanistan Six Provincial Situation Analysis (PSA) have mum service standards package that the $128 million been completed and 10 PSAs are underway. government is committed to delivering to Support was given to 98 Kochies (nomads) CCAP is the successor to the highly success- the citizens of Afghanistan. CCAP aims to and 136 disabled people to enhance their ful National Solidarity Programme (NSP), contribute to the government’s long-term Country Update/ ongoing operations 22/  results national solidarity programme transformed scores of lives in Kandahar Province By Engineer Abdul Qayum Yousufzai N ot so long ago, 15 years to be exact, I remember when people in the districts of Kandahar used animals to transport their agricultural harvest to the provincial cen- ter. There were a few, if any, motorable roads, and we had a limited number of health centers and schools in the province. Most of the infrastructure laid in ruins. But worst of all, the economic condition of the average Afghan was quite bad with little or no access to income, opportunities, and facilities. Things have changed since 2003. While many develop- ment projects have been implemented in Kandahar Pro- vince, the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) was one of the most popular and high impact. Running from 2003 to 2016, NSP was implemented in 16 out of 17 districts and set up 1,952 Community Development Councils (CDCs), which implemented over 3,300 projects. In Kandahar, communities are very conservative, and, overall, the province is highly traditional. When the pro- I have been working as a Provincial Director with the gram was launched, people in Kandahar were not in- MRRD for four years now. When NSP was active, I had terested in establishing CDCs through holding elections more than 400 visitors per day in the office, including wo- at the village level. men. They were all CDC members from different parts of In 2005, as an engineer with UN-HABITAT working as a Kandahar and they were eager to implement more pro- Facilitating Partner with NSP, I traveled to many districts jects in their villages. Most of the CDCs had active female “ in Kandahar, one of which was Arghandab. In my interac- members and the men listened to them. tions with locals there, I realized they were not ready to Now when I compare Arghandab district in 2003 to accept women as equal decision-makers. 2016, I can really see the improvements and develop- To address this, NSP conducted social awareness trai- CDCs brought women out of their homes ment. In 2003, Arghandab had hardly any roads, culverts, nings and encouraged people to join the program for ove- rall development and infrastructure management. These schools, or bridges. Villages were not connected to mar- kets and some villages were insecure. There were no and provided them with an opportunity to trainings encouraged some villages to establish CDCs women participating in the decision-making process. ” and they realized that working with women eased the But now, we have women members in CDCs and there is implementation of projects in their villages. This encou- not a single village in Arghandab left untouched by NSP take part in the development raged a behavior shift in neighboring villages as well. Village by village and district by district, NSP became development activities. At the initiation of the Government of Afghanistan, one of the most popular programs in the province. Most of their villages. the recently launched Citizens’ Charter Afghanistan Pro- importantly, NSP accessed the very remote villages in ject will build on the work of NSP to improve the delivery Kandahar, where residents did not even have Tazkiras of core infrastructure and social services to participa- (national ID cards), and linked them with government ting communities through strengthened development –Abdul Qayum Yousufzai, Provincial Director, Ministry of Rural departments. councils. Rehabilitation and Development, Kandahar Province One of the biggest achievements of this program has been increasing women’s participation in the overall c This is an abridged version of a blog, which can be economy. CDCs brought women out of their homes and accessed at: https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyin- provided them with an opportunity to take part in the southasia/national-solidarity-programme-transformed- development of their villages. scores-lives-kandahar-province Country Update/ ongoing operations 24/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/25 goals of reducing poverty and deepening the Trans-Hindukush relationship between citizens and the state. In October 2016, the World Bank ap- Road Connectivity proved a $100 million IDA grant for the Project project. In view of the impending returnee/ c IDA Grant $250 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) crisis that Afghanistan is facing, CCAP has received ad- The project aims to support GoA’s efforts ditional financing to help provide short-term to improve road transport links across the employment assistance to displaced people Hindukush mountain range, including the re- and host communities. CCAP has already de- habilitation of the Salang road and tunnel. It veloped operational guidelines to respond will develop existing mountain crossings into to the returnee/IDP crisis and has set aside dependable, all-season roads that will allow a $10 million contingency for this purpose. the vital transport of passengers and goods It has also been designed to expand its geo- to cross the Hindukush mountain range graphical scope rapidly. throughout the year. CCAP implementation is progressing There are currently only two road cross- systematically, with key staffing for both ings over the mountain range, with the implementing agencies completed and re- Salang highway carrying most of the cross- cruitment of all but one Facilitating Partner Hindukush traffic, and an unpaved secondary (FP) finalized. crossing between Baghlan and Bamiyan. The Social mobilization has begun in 1,051 project will carry out civil works for the upgrad- rural communities, with 243 communities CCAP will build on the ing of the Baghlan to Bamiyan (B2B) road (152 having completed community profiles, 132 progress made in rural km) into a paved road as well as the rehabili- having finished CDC elections, and 61 hav- development and work tation of the Salang road and tunnel (87 km). with strengthened ing finalized Community Development Plans Community Development Preliminary activities under the project (CDPs). FPs in urban areas have established Councils to improve have started. Land acquisition, engineering 18 CDCs (four each in Herat, Jalalabad, and delivery of core design review, procurement, and office set up infrastructure and social Kandahar, and six in Mazar-e-Sharif). services to participating are underway. To date, the land acquisition Provincial orientations have been con- communities. for two segments of B2B has been completed ducted in all 34 provinces for provincial and and the process is ongoing for the remaining select district governors, municipalities, four segments. line ministry directorates, Ministry of Rural The design review of three segments has Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), been completed and the work on the remain- Independent Directorate of Local Governance ing segments are underway. The procure- (IDLG) provincial directorates, Provincial course of 2016 and first quarter of 2017, an support for an emergency operation in March The Additional Financing will: ment for segment 1 of B2B is completed Management Unit (PMU) representatives, estimated 775,000 undocumented and regis- 2017 to help provide emergency income sup- and segment 2 is under process. The client is and interested representatives from civil so- (i) expand the geographic coverage of CCAP to additional areas of high planning to award the contract for the two tered refugees returned to Afghanistan from port to these returning refugees. The gov- ciety and the media. The CCAP management Pakistan and Iran. In addition, Afghanistan ernment’s goal is to grant returnees and returnee and displaced population density; road segments by start of the construction information system is also functional. has 1.2 million individuals at different stages IDPs decent and humane treatment in line (ii) add new activities, including a component around “social inclusion grants season after winter and mobilize the con- of displacement and an additional 400,000 with their constitutional rights as citizens of tractor within the year. (SIG) and maintenance and construction cash grants (MCCG)” to help finance labor- CCAP Emergency new internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 2016. Afghanistan that will enable them to become productive and well-integrated members of intensive public works and collective action activities for both displaced households Regional Displacement According to UNCHR, there are still 1.5 their community. and host communities; and / social safety net (iii) contribute through enhanced returnee data collection Response Additional million registered Afghan refugees living in Through the social and economic incen- Pakistan, and authorities there have asked tives under the CCAP Additional Financing, and registration support to the regional coordination mechanism supported Afghanistan Safety Financing for all Afghan refugees in Pakistan to return an estimated 1.5 million direct and indirect to Afghanistan by December 2017. The UN beneficiaries will be supported, of whom an through the tripartite arrangement between the Government of Afghanistan, the Nets and Pensions c IDA Grant $127.7 million Government of Pakistan, and UNHCR. The project development objective remains c ARTF Grant $44.3 million is therefore projecting that almost 500,000– estimated 660,000 are IDPs/returnees locat- the same as for the parent CCAP. Support Project 700,000 additional Afghans will return from ed in the 14 highest IDP/returnee concentra- IDA Grant $20 million c Afghanistan, and with it the South Asia re- Pakistan over the course of 2017. tion districts in rural/peri-urban areas as well gion, is witnessing a massive displacement In view of this regional displacement crisis, as the cities of Jalalabad and Kandahar that The objectives of the project are to: (i) improve and potential humanitarian crisis. Over the the Government of Afghanistan requested are under the coverage of the project. the administration of the public pension Country Update/ ongoing operations 26/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/27 schemes; and (ii) develop administrative sys- benefits. The pilot project will deliver two provincial capital cities (PCCs). These cities tems for safety nets interventions, with focus more rounds of benefits to these families un- are Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Khost, and on targeting and benefit payment delivery, to til December 2017 Mazar-e-Sharif. deliver cash benefits to the poorest families The project consists of the following in targeted pilot districts. components: Key elements of a reformed and mod- / urban development Component 1: Urban Information: Building ernized Public Sector Pension System are an Urban Management Information System. in place, including a revised institutional and human resources structure of the Afghanistan New Technical assistance to create a database and web architecture for key statistics, maps, and Pension Department, a comprehensive new Market Development geographic information system (GIS) data to Management Information System (MIS), a set of business processes, fiscal forecasting Project facilitate better urban planning and results monitoring. models for revenues and expenditures, and a c IDA Grant $22 million Component 2: Urban Institutions: Insti- new chart of accounts of the pension system. tutional and Capacity Development. Under- The project aims to pilot a business devel- About 118,000 pensioners have been reg- taking a functional review of current plan- opment program in the four urban cent- istered in the new Pension MIS and are paid ning functions, practices, and capacities at ers of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, and through bank accounts. A biometric identifi- MUDH and the five PCCs, and developing an Herat, which are the major hubs of economic cation and verification system was launched action plan to address deficiencies in legal/ activity. It helps enterprises gain market recently at the Central Pension Department regulatory issues, processes, and staffing. knowledge, improve product quality, boost in Kabul and some 57,000 pensioners have Support for four “work streams” to provide productive capacity, acquire new technolo- been biometrically certified. The MIS has diagnosis and recommendations on key pol- gies, and develop and implement business been rolled out to the provincial pension de- icy areas including urban planning and land plans to increase their presence in both do- partments of Balkh and Nangarhar. use management; affordable housing; urban mestic and export markets. The overall objectives of the safety net regeneration; and municipal finance. The project specifically aims to support component are to develop systems for tar- Small businesses, such Component 3: Urban Integration: Strength- some 375 small and medium enterprises geting beneficiaries and benefit delivery, as this pharmaceutical ening Urban Planning at National and Local and 30 business associations through a cost- enterprise, in Herat and to deliver cash benefits to poor families Levels. Financing the completion of Strategic sharing facility to access business develop- Province are seeing growth over pre-grant levels) across the four cities. with children under the age of 5 in five pi- and market expansion as a Development Plans (SDPs) for each of the ment services. The project is expected to The target of creating 1,500 jobs has been PCCs that will identify medium-term de- lot districts (Khas Kunar, Nurgal, Dawlatyar, result of support from the create around 1,500 jobs in the short term Afghanistan New Market met with 1,516 jobs created, of which the velopment goals, based on a consultative Yakawlang, and Chamkani) during the high with much higher job growth over the long- Development Project. target of 5 percent for women has been sur- stakeholder engagement process. The SDPs food insecurity seasons (winter/spring). er term. The project is implemented by the The project has worked with over 80 companies passed at 30.6 percent. Finally, the “product will draw from data inputs in Component The project has developed operational Ministry of Commerce and Industry. in the province in areas or market diversification” target of 20 has 1, identify key challenges and development procedures in line with international best The Facility for New Market Development involving capacity building, been exceeded with 21 new or improved goals, and propose activity and investment practices: a targeting mechanism based on (FNMD), created under the project, was of- procurement, adherence to international standards, products introduced and 44 new interna- plans to achieve them. The component will Proxy Means Testing (PMT) to identify and ficially launched on March 12, 2013. It has and enterprise launches. tional markets in 12 countries reached. also build a culture of planning through de- select poor households based on objective received 1,050 applications across the four velopment of curriculum for urban planning and transparent criteria; a social registry in- cities of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, and cluding the socio-economic characteristics of Herat. Assistance has been provided to 372 Urban Development practitioners. Component 4: Urban Investments: Fea- families; technology-based payments; and a randomized impact evaluation. firms (against a revised target of 375) and 53 Support Project sibility and Design Studies for Urban Infra- business associations (against a revised tar- structure. Preparation of multi-year capital In the new phase, a new targeting meth- get of 30). c IDA Grant $20 million investment plans (CIPs) linked to the SDPs odology was successfully implemented, Geographically, almost 40 percent of the The project will support the Ministry of for PCCs to undertake priority projects (no re- which computerized registration of poor agreements were signed with small and Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) gret, quick-win projects) and catalytic invest- households in five districts and paid benefits medium enterprises in Kabul, 21 percent in to create an enabling policy framework and ments (identified under SDPs, economically through mobile money operators and com- Herat, 20 percent in Mazar-e-Sharif, and 18 enhance urban policy-making capacity in rel- transformative projects). The CIPs would also mercial banks. percent in Jalalabad. Sales in the supported evant agencies at the national level, as well be used to develop a pipeline of bankable Around 12,000 selected poor families enterprises have increased by an average of as strengthen city planning, management, projects for financing under a future perfor- (68,000 individuals) benefited from the cash 24 percent (against a target of 20 percent and service delivery capacity in five selected mance-based finance project. 28/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/29 INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION The International Finance Corporation’s key Access to Finance and services for 250,000 Afghans living in prong of engagement has been through IFC provided assistance to DAB, the central off-grid areas. The impact will be achieved advisory support focused on improving the bank, in collaboration with the World Bank’s through accelerating the development of investment climate and building capacity, Financial Sector Strengthening Program to a sustainable commercial market for qual- while supporting selective investments in support the establishment of the first elec- ity verified lighting products. The program sectors with high development impact tronic Movable Collateral Registry and the works with the private sector to remove and job creation. IFC’s current strategy is in Public Credit Registry. market entry barriers, provide market intel- line with the ongoing World Bank Group’s IFC has helped DAB with establishing the ligence, foster business to business linkages, Country Partnership Framework (2017 to regulatory framework for leasing and is now and raise consumer awareness on modern FY 2020). working to establish a supervisory function lighting options. within DAB to license and supervise leasing Investment portfolio companies to facilitate the development of a Investment Climate IFC provides a mix of investments and advi- leasing sector. IFC has concluded the Afghanistan Construc- sory services in Afghanistan, with a focus on tion Permits Reform project and Subnational financial inclusion, services, telecommunica- Strengthening Horticulture Exports Doing Business Survey. It is currently working tions, agribusiness, and infrastructure. IFC’s IFC is working to develop Afghanistan’s to support the Ministry of Commerce and cumulative committed portfolio stood at horticulture exports by helping agricul- Industries (MoCI) in promoting an invest- $52 million as of end-FY17 and its advisory turists enhance efficiency and support- ment climate that is conducive to private services portfolio stood at $8.8 million. ing the extension of market opportunities, sector growth through its Licensing Reform IFC investments have had a transforma- both nationally and internationally. The Phase II project. Corporate Governance (CG) tional impact in access to finance and out- Strengthening Horticulture Exports project The Licensing Reform Phase II project is The CG project aims to address foundational reach, particularly in the microfinance and aims to improve the livelihood of horticul- building on the reforms achieved in Phase market failures in the Afghanistan banking telecommunication sectors. IFC will con- ture farmers by linking them to fruit process- I—the establishment of a one-stop shop sector. Through scoping activities as well tinue to seek new investment opportunities ing companies through contract farming for business registration and licensing at as prior work in this sector, a combination and engage with local players to support the and supporting processing companies to MoCI—with the overall goal to further of market failures has been identified at development of Afghanistan’s private sector, expand their export markets. streamline processes for increased efficiency all levels, i.e., individual bank, regulatory, particularly in infrastructure, finance, manu- and sustainability at the one-stop shop, in- and sector. facturing, agribusiness, and services. Lighting Afghanistan cluding business license renewal, and to roll- IFC is working with banks to help them At present, IFC’s Investment portfolio Lighting Afghanistan is a market transfor- out the business registration and licensing improve firm performance (improved de- includes investments in the telecommu- mation program aimed at increasing access reforms to the provinces. cision-making, risk management, operat- nication sector and financial markets. The to clean, affordable off-grid energy in rural The pipeline under the investment climate ing efficiency, profit, and valuations) and investment pipeline looks promising and Afghanistan. It is an integral part of IFC’s program includes studying legal barriers for increase access to finance (reduced costs of includes further investments in the financial “Lighting Global” program. women’s entrepreneurship, trade facilitation capital, improved loan terms, and increased markets, as well as investments in the power The program’s objective is to increase and export promotion, and indicator-based access to investors) by promoting better CG sector and agribusiness. access to modern solar lighting products reform advisory. practices among the banks in Afghanistan. 30/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/31 AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION TRUST FUND Afghanistan Reconstruction The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund certain portion of eligible and non-security Trust Fund (ARTF) was established in 2002 to provide a related operating expenditure every year. The coordinated financing mechanism for GoA’s Investment Window provides grant financ- budget and national investment projects. ing for national development programs in The objectives of the ARTF are to: Since its inception, 34 donors have contri- the development budget. • Position the national budget as buted over $10 billion to the ARTF, making the key vehicle to align the it the largest single source of on-budget Donor contributions financing for Afghanistan’s development. Donor contributions have increased year reconstruction program with after year, with both old and new donors national development Management contributing to the ARTF. Over the last few objectives. The ARTF has a three-tier governance frame- years the “preferenced” portion of donor con- work (Steering Committee, Management tributions has been the main factor driving • Promote transparency and Committee and Administrator), and three growth. The agreed ARTF rule is that donors accountability of reconstruction working groups. This sound framework has may not “preference” more than half of their assistance. enabled the ARTF to adapt to changing cir- annual contributions. This rule is to ensure cumstances and development priorities that the ARTF has sufficient funding to fi- • Reduce the burden on limited with consistency and consensus. The World nance the Recurrent Cost Window and that government capacity while Bank is the administrator of the trust fund. it retains some flexibility in the approval of promoting capacity building The Management Committee consists of projects in support of government priorities. the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank, over time. Asian Development Bank, United Nations The Recurrent Cost Window (RCW) • Enhance donor coordination Development Programme, Ministry of Grant $4.635 billion for financing and policy Finance, and United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as an observer. The The objective of the Recurrent Cost Support dialogue. The ARTF’s support Management Committee meets regularly in and Incentive Program is to provide a coordi- of the government’s priority Kabul to review ARTF finances and approve nated and incentives-driven financing mech- programs, policy reform agenda, including the delivery of services such as The Investment Window funding proposals. The ARTF Strategy Group, anism, enabling the Afghan government to consisting of donors and MoF, meets month- make predictable, timely, and accurate pay- and the non-security operating healthcare and education. Given that around The Investment Window has increased sig- ly to review the implementation of the ARTF ments for approved recurrent costs—related costs of government operations 60 percent of the non-uniformed Afghan nificantly in volume and scope. Since SY program and to discuss strategic issues. to salaries and wages of civil servants, and civil service is accounted for by teachers, the 1389 (year 2010), investment commitments contributes to the achievement Ministry of Education has in general received have exceeded recurrent cost commitments. non-security related government operating How the ARTF works and maintenance expenditures. of Afghanistan’s national about 40 percent of total ARTF resources. The Decentralized and national rural develop- Donors contribute funds into a single ac- The Recurrent Cost Window was set up in strategic goals. Ministries of Public Health, Foreign Affairs, ment programs, such as NSP, rural roads, and count held by the World Bank in the USA. The 2002 to help the Afghan government meet Labor, Social Affairs, and Higher Education education, have been strongly supported by ARTF Management Committee makes deci- its recurrent (operating) budget needs. In have also been major recipients. the ARTF. sions on proposed allocations at its regular 2009, the Incentive Program was added to It should also be highlighted that the RCW As of July 22, 2017, there are 27 projects meetings, and those decisions are translated support government reforms through a se- resources are national in scope, ensuring the active under the ARTF with a total commit- into funds through Grant Agreements signed ries of annual incentive payments aligned payment of salaries of around 62 percent of ment value of $3.3 billion, of which $2.5 between the World Bank as administrator with completion of key reforms. non-uniformed civil servants in all 34 prov- billion has been disbursed and the net undis- of the trust fund and the Government of To date, the ARTF has disbursed $4.6 bil- inces of the country. Steady year-on-year in- bursed amount is $790 million. Afghanistan. lion through the government’s non-security creases in operating costs across government c Full details of investment activities are ARTF allocations are made through two operating budget. Domestic revenues con- mean the RCW accounts for a declining share provided in the ARTF Reports: www.artf.af “windows”: the Recurrent Cost Window and tinue to be insufficient to cover the costs of of the overall budget. Nevertheless, the RCW the Investment Window. The Recurrent Cost government. The ARTF RCW has therefore still finances around 16 to 20 percent of the Window reimburses the government for a ensured the basic functioning of government government’s non-security operating budget. Country Update/ artf 32/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/33 / ongoing projects Afghanistan Justice Afghanistan Service Delivery Agricultural Inputs Project (JSDP) Grant $25 million Project (AAIP) The objective of the Justice Service Delivery Grant $67.25 million Project is to increase access to and use of legal AAIP aims to increase adoption of improved services. The project helps the Supreme Court crop production technologies. The agri- (SC), the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and culture sector is central to Afghanistan’s the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to pursue fun- economy, employing 60 percent of the na- damental reforms that will have longer term tion’s workforce. As such, strengthening impact on the judicial services. the institutional capacity of the Ministry of With JSDP support, the Supreme Court and Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), the Attorney General’s Office have completed and increasing investments for the safety their human resources needs assessment and reliability of agricultural inputs are in- and drafted Human Resources Management valuable to support continued increase of Strategies that will help improve staff compe- agriculture productivity. tency and quality in the two entities. Both in- Firstly, the project will improve the techni- stitutions are also conducting capacity needs cal and economic efficiency of the value chain assessments with JSDP support that will lead of certified wheat seed. Secondly, building on to a multi-year capacity building plan for the the legal and regulatory framework that the SC and AGO. project helped build during the preparation The level of legal aid provision has in- phase, the project will develop the necessary Farmers planting seedlings creased with the project facilitating 65 le- accredited facilities for plant quarantine net- in one of 10 regional gal aid providers across the country, each works and quality control of agro-chemicals. research farms supported expected to handle 10 cases a month. Legal by AAIP. The project aims Thirdly, guided by the results of field sur- to increase adoption of Aid Offices were established in the four pi- veys carried out during the preparation improved crop production lot provinces (Bamyan, Herat, Kabul, and phase, the project will design and pilot test technologies in the Logar) targeted by the project. The project agricultural sector, which a demand-led action plan to improve and de- employs 60 percent of the is also funding the development of a longer velop market-based input delivery systems country’s workforce. term Legal Aid Regulatory Framework and for seeds and agro-chemicals. The sustain- Roadmap for Afghanistan. ability of these interventions will be support- Complementary to this, libraries have been ed by capacity building programs involving established by the project in each pilot prov- civil servants, farmers, and traders. ince, and a legal information center is close The project is making progress toward to completion. The groundwork for the na- to completion with the necessary IT equip- achieving its development objective in a num- tional pest and diseases survey has started, ment installed and staff recruitment under- ber of areas. The project has trained over 410 one of the key activities under the project. way. The project has also supported training staff from the Agricultural Research Institute The project has made good progress in for 125 judges, with training of a further 40 of Afghanistan (ARIA) and Independent Seed conducting the nationwide pest survey and judges scheduled. Enterprise (ISE). In addition, 36 MSc students risk analysis. To this end, surveyors in 313 dis- The project has completed a limited have successfully completed their studies in tricts have undergone training and started amount of renovation and construction to India and returned to Afghanistan. the practical work of the survey. create an appropriate working environment Another notable achievement is that five Parliament and the office of the presi- for justice institutions. These include courts new varieties of wheat have been submitted dent have finally approved the Agricultural and prosecutor’s offices in the four pilot for release, meeting the total target. Further, Pesticides Act and Plant Protection and provinces, and a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) the project showed good progress on the Quarantine Law. The final draft of the Sub-office in the Dehsabz District of Kabul. execution of 14 infrastructure contracts for Chemical and Natural Fertilizers Law has Construction of new MOJ headquarters and quarantine stations, laboratories, and re- been sent to the Ministry of Justice for inclu- renovation of its old one (within the same search farms, several of which are now close sion in the legislative agenda. compound) are ongoing, while the procure- Country Update/ artf 34/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/35 ment process for an urban court in Kandahar tools for the government to reduce reliance and in Parwan has concluded and construc- on external technical assistance and parallel tion will start shortly. structures. The grant helps finance the costs associ- Afghanistan On-Farm ated with (i) technical assistance for prepa- ration and implementation of capacity Water Management building programs; (ii) recruitment of some Project 1,500 managerial, common function, and professional staff for key positions in select- Grant $70 million ed line ministries; (iii) a management intern- ship program; (iv) training of civil servants; This pilot project is designed to support on- and (v) project management, monitoring, farm water management investments in and evaluation. five regions (Central, Eastern, Southwest, CBR is demand driven and open to all line Northeast, Northern) covering a total of ministries and independent agencies. Based 10,000 hectares. The project improves agri- on pre-agreed criteria, including service de- cultural productivity in project areas by en- livery potential and reform readiness, line hancing the efficiency of water use. ministries and agencies are grouped as either Land productivity of wheat and other crops Category 1 (high priority) or Category 2. has increased by 15 percent. Water produc- Category 1 ministries/agencies receive full tivity of wheat and other crops increased 10 CBR reform support whereas Category 2 percent, and the irrigated area increased by ministries receive foundational (“CBR–readi- 10 percent. Physical rehabilitation of irriga- ness”) inputs designed to upgrade them tion schemes exceeded its target with good to Category 1. Ministries/agencies in both quality and within the project budget allo- categories must develop a comprehensive cation and timeline: 130 irrigation schemes reform plan (to be implemented with exist- (mostly informal) have been rehabilitated, ing donor and government resources) with covering a total of 29,000 hectares of irriga- a results framework to which they are held tion command area. Rehabilitation of 95 ir- accountable. rigation schemes is ongoing, covering 22,000 Of the selected CBR positions, 700 have hectares of land. been contracted to date, 54 of whom are The establishment of 175 Irrigation women (6 percent of selected positions), Associations (IAs) has been completed. The with the remainder 800 contracts at various IAs are based on the traditional Mirab system Access to electricity is stages of quality review and approval. CBR and have taken up the responsibilities for op- expected to improve is also assisting salary harmonization for for communities in the eration and maintenance. donor-funded consultants embedded in or CASA project area under working in support of government. the community support The first component, community grants reach will finance a strong communications Capacity Building for program. The program will provide grants directly for sub-projects will provide grants directly campaign and information-sharing activities to communities to fund economic infrastruc- directed to relevant stakeholders within the Results Facility Project Central Asia South to communities to fund economic infrastructure ture sub-projects. Preference will be given to provinces with a special emphasis on out- for Afghanistan Asia-1000 sub-projects, especially those in the power sector. power sector sub-projects. The second com- reach to communities in the project areas. ponent, community mobilization aims to Work under CASA-CSP will begin once the Grant $150 million Community Support engage communities to increase the shared CASA-1000 project is operational. Once imple- Capacity Building for Results (CBR) is a key Program (CASA-CSP) prosperity associated with the CASA-1000 mentation begins, CSP is expected to benefit ARTF investment that supports government transmission line, which will pass through vil- communities that live along a two-kilometer Grant $40 million lages, by facilitating community participation ‘Corridor of Influence’ (COI) on either side of in developing its internal human capac- ity, organizational structures, and functions The project aims to provide access to elec- in sub-project planning, implementation, and the CASA-1000 transmission line. It is ex- over the medium term to improve service tricity and/or other social and economic in- operations and maintenance. pected that there will be approximately 700 delivery to the population. CBR promotes ac- frastructure services to communities in the The third component is project imple- communities spread over 23 districts in six countability in line ministries by introducing project area in order to strengthen commu- mentation support. It comprises a sub-com- provinces, with a total of over 152,000 fami- results-based reform and services improve- nity support for the CASA-1000 transmission ponent, third party monitoring (TPM). The lies along the corridor of influence. Given the ment programs. CBR is also one of the key line. The project consists of four components. fourth component, communications and out- terrain along the COI, as well as the unique Country Update/ artf 36/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/37 nature of community mobilization in high- education in Afghanistan, as well as im- risk areas, there will be some flexibility to work prove its quality and relevance. HEDP uses with more communities outside of the COI. an Investment Project Financing instru- CASA-CSP is currently undergoing a level ment based on the Results-based Financing two restructure to (i) extend the closing date; modality. and (ii) restructure the implementation and fi- Under component one, project funds will duciary arrangement to continue to be effec- be disbursed against selected line items in tive after the closing of the NSP in March 2017. the annual budget of the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) up to capped amounts, DABS Planning and on condition that the agreed set of disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs) are and Capacity achieved. The DLIs reflect the priorities for development. These include intermediate Support Project outcomes that build cumulatively over the Grant $6 million lifespan of HEDP to improve access to the higher education system and raise its quality The Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat and relevance. This component will support Planning and Capacity Support Project aims the reforms initiated through the National to improve DABS capacity in distribution in- Higher Education Strategic Plan II, and vestment planning, implementation, and op- will focus on outcomes and results rather eration and maintenance. than inputs. This project has two components: The project started in September 2015 Component 1: Staff capacity building, and MoHE is on course to meet the second which aims to support DABS capacity to plan round of the DLIs, which include awarding and implement new investments in distribu- 200 scholarships to university academics, of tion systems and to operate and maintain which one third is allocated to women can- the investments properly. didates; training of 300 faculty members Component 2: Development of a training practicing outcome-based education and center in Kabul. Currently DABS does not student-centered learning; and awarding an Thousands of Kabul city have any training facility for its staff, and additional 30 individual and group research residents are enjoying this has been identified as a critical gap in its projects to faculty members from public and a better quality of life as a result of upgrades overall capacity building efforts. private universities. in infrastructure and Annual operations and maintenance Four Internal Quality Assurance Units other municipal facilities Kabul Municipal (O&M) plans for six major load centers have undertaken by KMDP. been implemented using new procedures (IQAU) have been established with managers selected from among the respective univer- The outcomes are visible Development Program in targeted areas where based on good international practice ad- sity faculties. Five universities are in the pro- cleaner, more orderly (KMDP) justed for local conditions. Project-supported cess of establishing IQAUs. An external peer localities are improving training and use of a new training center residents’ access to Grant $110 million review of eight universities (four each public services and local have resulted in improved skills for 90 per- and private) has been completed following businesses. “Now the Kabul Municipality is responsible for imple- cent of DABS planning and O&M staff. the revised Accreditation Framework. The condition of the roads is menting the project. The project objectives very good and this has external peer review of 10 more universities had a positive impact on are to: (i) increase access to basic munici- Higher Education will start shortly. business,” says a local shopkeeper. pal services in selected residential areas of Seven ICT centers with modern facili- Kabul city; (ii) redesign Kabul Municipality’s Development Project ties are being established, which will serve Financial Management System to support Grant $50 million as the hub for using modern technology to better service delivery; and (iii) enable early re- improve teaching and learning, including the sponse in the event of an eligible emergency. The Higher Education Development Project e-learning model. The project is expected to deliver welfare (HEDP) aims to increase access to higher Country Update/ artf 38/  results higher education development project fosters culture of research in Afghanistan • Interest in academic research is being revived in Afghanistan as a result of a government project that aims to increase access to higher education and improve its quality and relevance. • The Higher Education Development Project has seen a 30 percent increase in applications for its research grant scheme to further academic research in universities and expects the increase to continue. • The project comes at a time when Afghanistan is in need of indigenous research and innovation to help drive the country’s growth agenda forward. S eated at wooden desks lining the walls, a group of scholars are hard at work, burrowing through mounds of books and printed articles, taking notes, and highlighting references. Ahmad Omid Afzali, an assistant professor, and his colleagues are at work in the Natural Science Studies department at the Academy of Science of Afghanistan. Until recently, Afzali was a lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering in Paytakht Private University in Kabul. He was given the opportunity to do research when he was awarded a research grant under the Higher Education Development Project (HEDP) for his study evaluating the groundwater quantity and quality in the Kabul basin. “My research paper was published in an international journal,” he says, “I really like research and want to study more and discover new things.” Research has been neglected in Afghanistan due to “ several years of war and unrest. “Unfortunately, decades of war have negatively impacted the culture of acade- 2020, HEDP speaks directly to the needs of Afghanistan mic research,” says Hamidullah Sokout, an assistant at this point in its development—the need for indigenous Before the HEDP awards, research was not professor at the Faculty of Computer and Informatics, Kabul Polytechnic University. There were no resources or support for conducting studies in spite of interest in research and innovation to drive the country’s growth agenda forward. “We have enough educated people in Afghanistan and by conducting research we, too, can a priority, but this initiative has brought research on specific topics, he says. take part in the development of our country,” Afzali says. Sokout was another grantee of the HEDP research HEDP announced 30 research grants—20 for indivi- awards in 2016 and published his paper internationally. dual and 10 for group research studies—in the first year about a positive change, and, Sokout and Afzali represent a growing tribe of resear- of implementation. The research grants, ranging from chers who want to focus on cutting-edge studies that $2,000 to $8,000, are awarded in March each year. ” will impact their disciplines as well as communities. The grants are already bringing about a change in atti- will definitely in the long term, it They believe that academic research is an important indicator of a country’s development. “The key factor for most developed countries is academic research and it tude toward doing research in the country. Mohammad Basir Bakhtyari, a professor at the Faculty of Education in Bamiyan University attests to having found renewed improve research culture. will help us too in Afghanistan,” says Afzali. motivation for his research work. “Ever since HEDP star- ted its work, professors like me have become more in- Improve Research Culture terested in research,” he says. “If the project continues, –Hamidullah Sokout, assistant professor, Kabul Polytechnic University Designed to support the Ministry of Higher Education’s I think universities will regain their place in the produc- tion of knowledge and research.” second National Higher Education Strategic Plan, 2015– Country Update/artf 40/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/41 and human development benefits to over 700,000 people through services provided in some 1,800 hectares of private land. There will be project support to develop a plan for improving the municipality’s finan- cial management and planning capacity to deliver improved services. The plan will en- hance Kabul Municipality’s legitimacy when implemented. To date, $50.9 million has been disbursed. Over 1 million people (about 73 percent wo- men and children) have benefited from the construction of about 247 kilometers of neigh- borhood roads, 332 kilometers of commu- nity drains, and 20.5 kilometers trunk roads. Temporary employment of some 1.9 mil- lion people has been generated through the execution of contracts with labor intensive work at an investment of $514/person per month. Durable infrastructure will generate secondary employment in the years ahead. Importantly, KMDP has established a strong foundation for gender inclusive community participation in decision mak- ing over public expenditures in Guzars (neighborhoods). Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement Project (KUTEI) The rehabilitation of Grant $90.5 million major roads and their environs in Kabul city is breathing a new lease The project aims to improve road conditions of life into surrounding and traffic flows on selected corridors of neighborhoods. The work Kabul city. The project will focus on improve- project development objectives will be meas- lot is in the last stages and the package has is being carried out by Kabul Municipality under ment of road infrastructure and provision of ured through the following indicators: (a) been submitted to the National Procurement KUTEI. The project aims to technical assistance to Kabul Municipality in traffic capacity improvements will be meas- Authority (NPA) for its final review and ap- improve road conditions specific areas. ured by average vehicle speed during off- proval. The procurement process for the re- and traffic flow in selected corridors of Kabul city. Investments in key road infrastructure peak hours; (b) people (within a 500-meter habilitation of Wazir Abad canal has started will improve connectivity and make Kabul range under the project) in urban areas pro- and the contract is expected to be awarded more inclusive, while technical and knowl- vided with access to all season roads; and (c) by December 2017. edge support will gradually transform Kabul percentage of Kabul city’s trunk road network Under Component B, the consultancy Municipality into a modern planning and in at least ‘fair’ condition. for area accessibility and street function implementing agency by adopting best in- To date, implementation of infrastructure optimization of Kabul city is in the final ternational practice. Kabul Municipality will contracts for six roads, totaling 19.3 km, has stages of the procurement review. The pro- be responsible for implementation of the been completed and the roads opened to curement for the consultancy contract for project, including procurement and financial traffic. The contract for Lot-7 has been award- the design and review of 40 km of new management. ed and the implementation progress stands roads has started and the contract is ex- Progress toward the achievement of the at 10 percent. The procurement of the final pected to be awarded by December 2017. Country Update/ artf 42/  results rebuilt arterial roads revive local businesses and ease transportation woes • The rehabilitation of major roads and their environs in Kabul city, resulting in modern, clean, and attractive spaces, is breathing a new lease of life into surrounding neighborhoods. • The rehabilitation is being carried out by Kabul Municipality under the Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement project. • The project aims to improve road conditions and traffic flow in selected corridors of Kabul city. W ide roads with cars driving by, sidewalks filled with chatty pedestrians, and streetlights that twinkle in the evening haze add to the liveliness of Kart-e-Naw neighborhood. Shopkeeper Abdul Bashir, 37, glances out the window as he deals with a stream of customers. The locality’s new face has been very good for business and he has not had a chance to touch his cup of chai (tea). Bashir is one of many shop owners in Kart-e-Naw neighborhood in District 8 in Kabul, the capital city. The reconstruction of the main road outside his shop has ensured that he no longer has to deal with dust and mud, and this has improved the footfall in his large superstore. “After the road was reconstructed, my sales increased by 30 percent,” he says. “Now I open early and close late due to the constant stream of customers.” The rehabilitation of the locality was carried out un- “ der the Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement (KUTEI) project. “I was born and grew up here and I have Positive Impact on Commuters and Residents never seen the kind of work that KUTEI has done,” says A satisfied commuter is Abdul Samad, a taxi driver, who The road is modern and systematic, a grateful Bashir. “The road is modern and systematic, finds the quality of his working life greatly improved. the culverts, green spaces, footpaths, are all designed “During the eight years of driving my taxi, I haven’t come in a well-planned manner, and street lighting at night across a road so smooth and bump free,” he says. “Before the culverts, green spaces, footpaths, are all designed in a makes the area safe, bright and beautiful.” we had many problems—it was constantly jammed, the Kart-e-Naw road is one of the main roads of Kabul city road was uneven, and there was a lot of mud. It used ” well-planned manner, and street lighting at connecting two major parts, the east and the city cen- to take me one hour to come from downtown to Kart-e- ter. It links four Kabul Municipality districts, improving transit for thousands of commuters. To date, KUTEI has Naw, but today I came within five minutes. I spend less on fuel and I save time. Of course, I am very satisfied.” night makes the area safe, bright, and beautiful. completed the rehabilitation projects of six main roads in the city. Having spent his childhood playing in the dusty and Kabul Municipality, through KUTEI, completed Kart- unpaved roads of the locality, the modernization makes –Abdul Bashir, shopkeeper, Kart-e- Naw neighborhood, Kabul city e-Naw road reconstruction project in 2017, which in- cluded two main roads and service roads totaling 4.9 it exactly the kind of place Abdul Bashir wants his child- ren to grow up in. This one road has revived business, kilometers, a large bus station, sidewalks, drainage sys- eased movement, and made the locality a much better tem, and streetlights place to live in. Country Update/ artf 44/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/45 Women with no source of income are being National Horticulture given a lifeline to support themselves and their and Livestock Project families through a kitchen gardening scheme (NHLP) implemented by NHLP in Grant $190 million Panjshir Province. “I sell my produce to locals and Government of Afghanistan $28.2 million at the nearest market, and then I spend my earnings NHLP aims to promote the adoption of im- on my family’s needs,” says proved production practices and technolo- a beneficiary. The project gies by target farmers, with gradual rollout of is providing training and tools to over 500 women in farmer-centric agricultural services systems the province. and investment support. Service delivery centered on farmers promotes increased par- ticipation of beneficiaries in defining the type of services required and in the delivery itself. The project also promotes improved ratio of overall costs reaching beneficiaries as direct investments. The aim is, thus, to promote sustainability, effectiveness, and efficiency. The project has three components: (i) hor- ticultural production; (ii) animal production and health; and (iii) implementation man- agement and technical assistance support. These activities were initially implemented in 120 focus districts in 23 target provinces. Based on the high demand for NHLP servi- ces, the project received additional financing to allow expansion of its work programs to 250 districts in 31 provinces, with a national coverage plan. To date, NHLP has financed the establish- Naghlu Hydropower the plant was signed on December 27, 2015, and came into effect on August 24, 2016. ment of 16,750 hectares (ha) of new pista- Rehabilitation Project Key specialists from the Environment and chio and fruit orchards in 32 provinces. In addition, over 90,000 ha of existing orchards (NHRP) Social Advisory Panel (ESAP) and the Project Technical Advisory Panel (PTAP), to enhance have been rehabilitated and some 96,000 kitchen gardening schemes established. Grant $83 million quality of work and services, are on board Results expected under the NHRP and have conducted two site visits. In the same period, the project has support- The NHRP development objective is to im- ed construction of 1,037 small water harvest- • Revived 50 MW unoperational capacity of Naghlu Hydropower Plant (NHPP) by Progress to date includes rehabilitation prove dam safety and sustainability of hy- ing structures, improving farmers’ resilience of three warehouses inside Naghlu power rehabilitating Unit 1 and overhauling Unit 3. dropower and to increase the supply of to weather change by allowing harvest and plant. A social survey of villages in Tagab and electricity at the Naghlu Hydropower Plant storage of water during the rainy season and • Improved routine operation and maintenance of the power plant for five years. Surobi districts, close to Naghlu Dam, has (NHPP). The NHPP is of strategic importance gradual release in the growing period based • Enhanced staff capacity to operate and maintain the power plant. to Afghanistan’s power generation portfo- been conducted, in which vocational train- on crop needs. This has been implemented • Residents living near NHPP connected to electricity and local residents benefit ings and electrification of 22 villages were lio as it provides more than half of Kabul’s in partnership with Community Develop- identified. A vocational training manual has from vocational training. electricity. ment Councils. been prepared and electrical equipment for The project took effect on January 24, 2016, To strengthen marketing, targeted farmers, • Enhanced security and safety measures of the NHPP. Surobi district villages has been supplied. after the signing of the Grant Agreement. both male and female, have been trained on The main contract for the rehabilitation of harvesting and post-harvest handling issues. Country Update/ artf 46/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/47 They have also been provided with a large Component 1: The objective is to train number of essential tools (e.g., pruning 40,000 Afghans by providing incentives to shears, ladders, bags) for proper harvesting of training providers and creating an opportu- their products. nity for competition and improved quality of A total of 997 raisin drying houses has training. Currently, 192 non-formal private been constructed on a cost-sharing basis to and non-governmental training providers reduce post-harvest losses of grapes and im- have been identified and will compete for prove the quality of raisins produced. incentives based on the number of certified Regarding livestock activities, NHLP con- graduates and the number of students em- tinues to focus on key activities, including ployed after completing the training. poultry production and animal health and ex- The rationale for this intervention is that tension services, while expanding work pro- incentives directly linked to labor market grams to other areas such as fishery and dairy. outcomes are likely to encourage training Under the National Brucellosis Control providers to actively prepare students for the Program in 360 districts, more than 2.2 mil- certification exam and help graduates seek lion young female calves and over 11.5 mil- employment. It is also based on the premise lion young female sheep and goats have been that labor market outcomes cannot improve vaccinated. unless the quality of non-formal training To date, the project has supported 122,800 improves. farmers (78,968 women and 43,872 men), Component 2: NATEJA will provide capac- forging them into 5,768 producer groups, in- ity development assistance including in- cluding poultry producer groups, to benefit creased staffing, staff training, and a range from animal production and health servic- of Technical Assistance (TA) to support: (i) es. It has also extended its activities to new financial management; (ii) procurement; (iii) geographical areas under sanitary mandate entrepreneurship development; (iv) employ- activities, and is supporting MAIL’s relevant ment services; and (v) labor market informa- directorate to implement them. tion collection, analysis and utilization. The monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity Non-formal Approach of the National Skills Development Program will be enhanced so that reliable and suitably to Training A pilot micro-grants scheme under NATEJA disaggregated project performance data can Education and Jobs is targeting youth with low education in rural be collected and analyzed. Under this component, NATEJA has in Afghanistan and semi-urban areas to support aspiring partnered with the Italian Development Project (NATEJA) entrepreneurs. Women make up around 30 Cooperation Office (IDCO) to conduct an impact evaluation of the business grant pro- Grant $15 million percent of the 2,500 gram that has been implemented in six prov- selected micro- entrepreneurs based in inces (Balkh, Bamyan, Farah, Herat, Kabul, and The objective of NATEJA is to increase the Kabul, Nangarhar, and Nangarhar) to establish the causal impacts potential for employment and higher earn- Balkh Provinces. of project interventions and how to scale up ings of targeted young Afghan women and successful interventions. The baseline sur- men in rural and semi-urban areas through vey data collection is underway and will be non-formal skills training. The project focuses followed by midline and endline surveys to on improving labor market outcomes (e.g., measure the respective impacts of the busi- earnings and employment) for unskilled and ness grant program on job creation, earnings, semi-skilled youth through enhancing the and skills acquired. quality of training delivery, and providing en- Component 3: The focus is on building trepreneurship/apprenticeship support. the skills of illiterate and unskilled young Country Update/ artf 48/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/49 businesses after receiving the grants. The lishment of an equal number of school shuras same percentage of grantees with existing (community-based consultative bodies). businesses has made further investments in Under EQUIP II, 16,588 schools have received their businesses. A number of the targeted Quality Enhancement Grants for purchase of grantees had made an additional investment school supplies, laboratory equipment, and to complement the grant funding through other purposes. NATEJA. The majority of visited grantees indi- In addition, 154,811 teachers have been cated that their business had improved as a trained under the In-Service Teacher Training result of receiving the grant. (INSET) courses 1-5, of whom 35 percent are Labor Market Information Analysis data- women. At the same time, 21,277 school base development is underway and four web- principals and administrators have been based applications for Employment Service trained in School Management Training Centers have been completed (job seekers’ (SMTs 1-6), about 20 percent of whom are registration database, employers’ registra- women. Moreover, 11,436 women have re- tion database, job seekers training and ca- ceived scholarships and graduated from TTCs. pacity building database, and job placement The development of an online education database). atlas of schools in Afghanistan is underway. The atlas will present key education statistics Second Education and indicators on online maps, which can be used at national, subnational, and school Quality Improvement level. Moreover, the MoE plans to install a so- Program (EQUIP II) lar panel system at 13 Provincial Education Directorate, which will improve connectivity Grant $408 million between the provinces and Kabul. EQUIP’s objective is to increase equitable ac- cess to quality basic education, especially Second Public for girls. Program interventions are primarily targeted toward general education, teacher Financial Management training, and education management. The Reform Project program is fully aligned with the Afghanistan Grant $114.13 million National Education Strategic Plan and sup- ports the institutional development of the The project objective is to further strength- Student enrollment, Ministry of Education’s program staff. EQUIP en the efficiency and effectiveness of especially among girls, was originally supported by the International Afghanistan`s procurement, treasury, and has increased in this Afghans from villages engaged with the Development Association, the World Bank audit systems. school in Khost city after Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development the construction of a Group’s fund for the poorest countries. Project components include: Project (AREDP), and offering business grants new school building. The To date, EQUIP II has supported the con- Procurement Reform: To provide techni- building, which provides a to new and existing entrepreneurs. struction of 1,137 schools and six teacher cal assistance to the National Procurement safer and better learning A total of 70 training providers have passed environment, was built by training colleges (TTCs). According to the Authority to assess the legal and institutional a rigorous selection review and are due to an EQUIP grant. The school Education Management Information System, frameworks, handle procurement under the is one of 365 schools in the sign MoUs with the Ministry of Labor, Social a total of 5.3 million boys and 3.4 million girls recipient’s budget, develop an action plan province supported by the Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled. Further, 673 vo- program. account for the total enrollment in Grades 1 for procurement, prepare an e-procurement cational trainers received Training of Trainers to 12, against the end targets for December assessment and build human capacity of training on NOSS utilization, learning materi- 2017 of 5.2 million boys and 3.8 million procurement staff, improve the quality of als development, and training delivery. girls. These numbers include permanently trainings of procurement officers, and build To date, 57,459 trainees have been selected, absent students who remain in school reg- capacity in line ministries. of whom 35,031 are men and 22,428 women istration for three years based on prevailing The project will strengthen the institution- (39 percent). In addition, 2,482 youth have re- regulations. al development of NPA by providing support ceived an entrepreneurship grant. Field visits Under both phases of EQUIP, social mo- in its establishment, structures, systems, have reported that more than 95 percent of bilization activities have been conducted in processes and procedures, and implement- the targeted grantees have started their new 14,932 communities, resulting in the estab- ation strategy. Country Update/ artf 50/  Financial Management Reform: To pro- mentation and provide for future requests vide technical assistance to the Treasury for assistance on the design and delivery of Department to ensure high quality finan- public financial management technical as- cial management, focusing on integrating sistance across government; and provide its operation system with government sys- broad-based training for staff of MoF and line tems and the application of the Afghanistan ministries. Financial Management Information System Revenue Mobilization: To support the (AFMIS); introduce improved management Afghanistan Revenue Department to carry reporting and expand access of AFMIS budg- out its mandate, including support for the etary units in the provincial offices of the maintenance of the computerized tax sys- Ministry of Finance; assist staff in the prepa- tem (Standard Integrated Government Tax ration, monitoring and implementation of Administration System, SIGTAS), implemen- individual training plans, as well as annual tation of tax-related initiatives such as risk- performance appraisals; prepare training based compliance, implementation of the modules on MoF processes under the certi- new value added tax (VAT), and the design fied accounting technician courses provided and implementation of its new organization- by the Association of Chartered Certified al structure. Accountants (UK); establish a national steer- Outcomes of the progress made include: (i) ing committee for developing and regulating disbursed approximately $75.40 million from the accounting and auditing profession and total commitment (77 percent); audit of nine the training of professional accountants; and large ministries by SAO, representing more conduct a public financial management as- than 75 percent of government expenditure sessment of seven line ministries. as per international audit standards; (ii) roll- Audit Reform and Performance: Internal out of AFMIS upgrade (to web-based version); Audit—to develop internal audit capacity (iii) coverage of internal audit improving; and through a variety of means, including train- (iv) National Procurement Committee (NPC) ing and provision of IT infrastructure. decisions reported immediately after session External Audit—to provide assistance to takes place and uploaded to the NPA website. the Supreme Audit Office (SAO) to develop its The legal framework underpinning public knowledge, expertise, and practices in using financial management in Afghanistan has the services and results of other auditors and been established. The government now pre- experts in line with International Auditing pares and passes a comprehensive budget in Standards, in particular for project audits; an orderly and transparent manner. support consultant services to train staff and Project support to Afghanistan’s centralized lead high quality independent review of all procurement oversight has been mobilized operations under the budget of nine line min- and the National Procurement Authority, as istries over the project period; and finance the successor to the Procurement Policy Unit, training of members of the Public Accounts continues to assist with the reorganization, Committee. development, and assessment of procure- Reform Management: To support MoF ment units in the line ministries. by establishing a structure and job descrip- External audit is now engaged in perfor- tions, providing training for staff in the mance audit and is committed to developing monitoring and evaluation department, and a mechanism for citizens’ participation in the revising MoF’s existing monitoring and evalu- audit. ation manual; improve the operations of the Human Resource Management Department Note: All dollar figures are in US dollar equivalents. to enable it to carry out its functions effi- IDA, the International Development Association, is the ciently; assist in the overall project imple- World Bank’s concessionary lending arm. The World Bank Group in Afghanistan www.worldbank.org.af Abdul Raouf Zia http://facebook.com/WorldBankAfghanistan phone +93 701 133 328 http://twitter.com/WorldBankSAsia infoafghanistan@worldbank.org photos and photo cover © Rumi Consultancy/World Bank/2017. House 19, Street 15, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, afghanistan ©World Bank, October 2017.