Call for action: Afghan provincial CSOs want more accountability

IWA’s Policy Brief on Aid Effectiveness focuses on data from the Ministry of Finance and from

international donors, looking at how aid has impacted Afghanistan, particularly in rural and provincial areas.  According to Integrity Watch, both the Afghan government and  donors must establish better social accountability mechanisms and improve  civil society engagement in the budget and aid tracking processes. This will ensure greater government and donor transparency and accountability as emphasised  in the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework (TMAF), the agreement between the Afghan government and the International Donor community, reaffirming their commitment to the economic growth and development of Afghanistan. 

Today’s CSO summit included the participation of two organisations: CASDO- Civil Actors for Sustainable Development Organisation and the Afghan Literacy Organisation (ALO) who are putting the principles of the TMAF into action in the provinces. CASDO  has surveyed street children in Mazar to learn their needs. As as a result of this initative,  the local government has agreed to register over 300 children, enabling them to receive free medical care and education.  Mr. AzimResalat, Director of CASDO and a participant in this programme said “ civil society networks in Balkh have convinced the authorities to be accountable such as attention for street children, we can have the same impact in other provinces”.

ALO will implement an innovative, grassroots outreach strategy to inform people in Kandahar province about the new Elimination of Violence Against Women law, through mullahs, imams and hospitals and schools, ALO will inform the public not only of their rights but responsibilities which is an important step forward in women’s rights. Mohammad Ashraf from ALO Kandahar and a participant said “sharing aid information of the government and donors can help us to better understand about aid effectiveness in Afghanistan”. While Mr. Ali Jan Fasihi another participant from Herat province said “CSOs must make sure the government and NGOs include the sustainability and effectiveness elements in their projects”.

The CSO summit aims to amplify provincial voices in calling for greater government accountability on its promises to the Afghan people, as preparations take place for the London Conference on Afghanistan in December 2014. The meeting in London will focus on the progress of the Afghanistan government and the goals it is still chasing.

IWA’s Policy Brief on Aid Effectiveness and the work of CASDO and the ALO in the provinces have all been supported by the Internews’ managed Civil Society and Media program (CSM Net) which is supported with funding from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S.Department of State.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND MORE INFORMATION CONTACTS
With SayedIkramAfzali, Executive Director of Integrity Watch Afghanistan via 0788 266 645mobile number.

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