Wednesday February 11, 2015
Kabul (BNA) The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) contributes Afghanistan $ 82 million that would be spent in seven sectors that are the priorities of government of Afghanistan in the next five years.
This fund would be spent within upcoming five years in offering of better services for families’ arrangement, expansion of health services to mothers especially in remotes areas of the country, the rights and requirements of youths, implementation of the law in respond to violence against women, reduction of under-age marriages and enforcement of government institutions.
Dr. A. Roberts, representative of UNFPA in Afghanistan told media that with signing of this memorandum of the UN cooperation to Afghanistan to be resumed and this organization continues its cooperation to Afghanistan. This program is recognized on the basis of Afghans’ requirements and in coordination with the national priorities of government of Afghanistan.
The UNFPA is proud to implement its programs in Afghanistan within upcoming five years. Within these years, we continue to our cooperation for institutionalization of the society especially in the sector of health, mothers’ pregnancy, youths’ rights and prevention from human tragedy in collaboration of international donors that are the Afghan government priorities.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of this cooperation has been signed between Ministry of Economy and UNFPA in Kabul. This regarded as a new page in the cooperation of the UN with Afghanistan. At the same time, the Ministry of Economy of Afghanistan regarded this MoU important in the sector of maintaining human rights in Afghanistan. Acting Minister of Economy, Hukum Khan Habibi emphasizes that this ministry would supervise seriously from projects funded through the fresh assistance of the UNFPA. The aim we would implement with signing of this MoU is planned through a joint consultative process, this process lead by government of Afghanistan including key institutions and civil society. We believe that implementation of this program brings positive change in Afghan society and would cause the economic and social growth in upcoming years in the country. As of forty years to date, the UNFPA helped Afghanistan in various fields especially in maintaining human rights. Once more, this organization emphasizes on its long-term cooperation to Afghanistan, but wants the latter to seriously supervise from expenditure of this cooperation. The UN emphasizes on transparent expenditure of international community’s cooperation in a time that previously, the national unity government of Afghanistan has also asserted that it would fight seriously with official corruption.
A number of Afghan experts in economic affairs believe that if the contributions rendered to Afghanistan within recent thirteen years, the government of Afghanistan used correctly majority of our problems would remove. While so far, the series of humanitarian cooperation are continuing to Afghanistan, it is hoped the same would not be embezzled and be spent in its suitable places. These witnesses believe that although some works have been done in infrastructures of Afghanistan from this assistance, but, there are larger economic projects that attention should be paid to them. They demanded from government of Afghanistan to supervise from funds assisted for some projects to Afghan government and prevent from official corruption and embezzlement in the connection. A number of Kabul citizens are also demanding from national unity government the contribution rendered to Afghanistan should be spent as a good manner. According to them, now a number of projects that are in need of fund since a while, they are stopping. These projects are uplift ones and are in need of rehabilitation. But unfortunately, they are incomplete because of money shortage. It is said that now, the water-supply projects that ought to be utilized by a company in Khushal Mena of Kabul city, its work is stopping since three years and so far, this company is not succeeded to lay to utility the system of water supply for residential people of this area. This is in a time that so far, the contributions of international community to Afghanistan are continuing and people are expecting from the government of Afghanistan not to lose this opportunity and consume the assistance in its own place. Kohistani
