Afghan Ex-Combatants and Poppy Growers Receive New Livelihoods

E-mail: azia@worldbank.org
Japanese Embassy:
Chikako Kodama (93) 702 78193 

KABUL, August 28, 2004– Thousands of Afghan people whose only livelihood has been combat or the growing of illegal opium poppies will be given the opportunity to enter Afghanistan’s new economy with help from a US$19.6million grant to be provided by the Government of Japan and administered by the World Bank.

The objectives of this grant are: (i) to provide immediate employment opportunities through the Government of Afghanistan’s National Emergency Employment Program (NEEP) for ex-combatants in order to facilitate their reintegration into civil society as a component of the broader Afghanistan New Beginnings Program (ANBP), and (ii) to contribute to the Government’s alternative livelihood program in opium poppy producing areas. The grant focuses on two areas: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and Rural Livelihood Support (RLS).  

“Reintegration of ex-combatants is our great concern as a lead donor country of DDR,” said Kinichi Komano, Ambassador of Japan.  “Such reintegration program has to be based on the regional development and, so does alternative livelihood program.  NEEP provides the opportunity of income generation for both former fighters and people in need through infrastructural rehabilitation, which could lead to regional development.”

The Government’s DDR program maintains that demobilization of forces and their reintegration into society are essential prerequisites for the consolidation of the peace process and restoration of  social and economic development in Afghanistan. The RLS program, designed to help eliminate the production of illicit drugs in the country, provides alternative income opportunities for those who have seen growing opium poppies as the most desirable or only path out of poverty.

“The Government of Afghanistan has demonstrated a clear understanding of the significant challenges faced by people whose lives have been shaped by conflict and extreme poverty over the past two decades,” said Amer Zafar Durrani, the World Bank Task Leader for the Project. “The Government requested help to develop programs that will allow these people to follow a different path and contribute to the growth of the new Afghanistan that is emerging.”

The three-year program will provide immediate wage labor employment for 10,000 unskilled ex-combatants while providing around 100 to 300 ex-officers and ex-commanders with employment, training and equipment (under a lease-purchase arrangement) to start up small scale labor based contractor businesses. The program will also provide vocational training to 1,500 ex-combatants and will train 1,000 more in operating and maintaining road construction equipment. It expects to generate 3 million labor days of employment for ex-combatants, rural workers in poppy-growing areas, and others who are living in poverty. 

The grant is being provided by the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), established by the Government of Japan in 2000 to help poor and vulnerable people participate in the development process. The fund is administered by the World Bank. The two parties agreed to set up a special window within the JSDF to support Afghanistan’s reconstruction and transition toward political, economic, and social stability.

For More Information on the World Bank’s Activities in Afghanistan visit:

http://www.worldbank.org/af

For More Information on the Project visit:

http://www4.worldbank.org/sprojects/Project.asp?pid=P083720