Afghans say "more effective aid" needed to halt decades of violence – Oxfam

By Nita Bhalla

NEW DELHI (Reuters AlertNet) - Afghans say foreign donors must commit and deliver "more effective aid" if the country is to pull itself out of poverty and end more than three decades of violence, Oxfam International said in a report on Wednesday.

"The Cost of War" - a survey based on interviews with over 700 people across 14 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces - found that most Afghans felt poverty, unemployment and corruption were the main drivers of conflict in the country since 1978.

However, many also felt that while much aid had been promised to the Afghan people, little had been delivered - creating frustration and disillusionment and ultimately undermining stability, said the report.

"Ordinary Afghans want peace and an end to conflict, and they want to see the root causes of fighting dealt with," said Barbara Stocking, Oxfam's chief executive.

"Poverty is driving the conflict. One man told us: 'If people are jobless they are capable of anything.' The international community must bear his words in mind and provide more effective aid to help kick-start the Afghan economy," Stocking added in a press release.

Since U.S.-backed forces toppled the Taliban in 2001, international donors have poured more than $20 billion in development and humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged nation.

But the report, which backs up criticism from aid agencies and observers, said Afghans felt the funds were insufficient and wasted and there needed to be more accountability to ensure aid got to where it was needed.