Country Update ISSUE 054 APR. 2019 “ Research farms have improved their efficiency through activities supported by the ” Afghanistan Agricultural Inputs Project. . page 40 page 4 page 6 page 34 page 38 world bank ongoing international afghanistan group support operations finance reconstruction corporation trust fund / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/3 CONTENTS ongoing NEW SUPPORT FOR NEWS operations DISPLACED PEOPLE, world bank page 6-33 MUNICIPAL SERVICES, group support page 4 -5 12 results AND CAPACITY page 6 education and training ‘Afghanistan’s Central Bank BUILDING page 4 bet on upskilling employees’ World Bank projects and page 8 New grants valued at $325 million will programs financial sector support the following projects: International Finance page 16 $200 MILLION GRANT TO THE Corporation health ESHTEGHAL ZAIEE – KARMONDENA PROJECT (EZ-KAR), which aims to Multilateral Investment page 18 strengthen job and economic oppor- Guarantee Agency infrastructure tunities in cities where there is a 22 results high influx of displaced people. It will page 5 page 24 ‘Irrigation rehabilitation support actions such as increasing Country Partnership Framework, 2017-2020 rural development reduces water-related conflicts’ returnees’ access to civil documents, providing short-term employment afghanistan Afghanistan page 31 opportunities, improving market ena- among top 10 improvers with record reforms to improve business climate bling infrastructure, and supporting service delivery Reconstruction Trust Fund investor-friendly regulatory reforms. The grant comprises $150 million from Japan Social page 32 Afghanistan carried out a record number of business reforms in the past year, ear- IDA and $50 million from the ARTF. Development Fund urban development ning the country a spot in this year’s top 10 global improvers, according to the World $50 MILLION GRANT TO THE CITIES Bank Group’s report, Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform – Afghanistan, released INVESTMENT PROGRAM (CIP), aiming on October 31, 2018. This year’s Doing Business report covered 190 economies. to improve the sustainability and liva- With five reforms in the past year, Afghanistan advanced to 167th place in the glo- international finance bility of nine provincial capital cities bal ease of doing business rankings. The latest reforms were in starting a business, corporation by strengthening municipal capacity, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. page 34-37 management, and infrastructure. The Starting a business: Starting a business became less costly by reducing the fees for grant comprises $25 million from IDA business incorporation. As a result, the cost of starting a business reduced signifi- and $25 million from the ARTF. cantly from 82.3 percent of income per capita to only 6.4 percent. page 34 ongoing advisory projects Getting credit: Access to credit was strengthened by enacting a new insolvency law. $75 MILLION GRANT TO THE TACKLING Secured creditors are now given absolute priority over other claims within insolven- AFGHANISTAN’S GOVERNMENT HRM cy proceedings. results 44 52 results (HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT) AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS Protecting minority investors: Minority investor protections were strengthened sub- ‘Better mobility after afghanistan ‘Self-sufficiency for stantially, making Afghanistan one of the economies advancing the most in this (TAGHIR) PROJECT. This project will road upgrades’ reconstruction trust rural Afghans’ area. Afghanistan focused on enhancing the legal framework for businesses. assist the Government of Afghanistan fund to deliver on its key policy priorities Paying taxes: Paying taxes was made easier by adopting a new tax administration page 38-54 through merit-based recruitment and law manual with clear rules and guidelines on tax audit and by automating the and administrative reforms in 16 line submission of tax returns. page 40 ministries. The grant comprises $25 Resolving insolvency: Resolving insolvency became easier by improving the continua- ongoing projects million from IDA and $50 million from tion of the debtor’s business during insolvency proceedings, introducing the reorga- the ARTF. nization procedure, and granting creditors greater participation in the proceedings. c The report is available at: http://wrld.bg/F5cb30iMAoz 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 public and private sectors, to strengthen the environment for private sector invest- FRAMEWORK, In 2013, MIGA launched its “Conflict Affec- salaries, and over $5.4 billion had been made building capacity and legitimacy of the state, ted and Fragile Economies Facility” that uses available, both for closed and active invest- and programs and channeling donor resources through the ment and promote private sector growth. 2017–2020 donor partner contributions and guarantees ment projects. As of January 20, 2019, 21 government to ensure investments are alig- IFC’s current cumulative committed invest- as well as MIGA guarantees to provide an ini- projects are active under the ARTF with net Since April 2002, the World Bank's Internatio- ned with national priorities. To this end, the ment portfolio stands at over $150 million tial loss layer to insure investment projects in commitment value of $1.8 billion. The World Bank Group’s current nal Development Association (IDA) has com- World Bank works closely with other multi- and its advisory services portfolio stands difficult contexts. This facility could be used to c For more information: see page 38. mitted over $4.48 billion for development lateral and bilateral agencies across a num- at $13.9 million. IFC’s investment portfolio engagement with Afghanistan boost the agencies’ exposure in Afghanistan. and emergency reconstruction projects, and over 2017–2020 is determined six budget support operations in Afghanis- ber of sectors where aid coordination and includes investments in the telecommunica- Japan Social Afghanistan government ownership are most critical. tion sector, agribusiness, and financial mar- by the Country Partnership Fra- tan. This support comprises over $4.04 billion c For information about completed projects: kets. The investment pipeline looks promi- mework strategy, which is closely Development Fund in grants and $436.4 million in no-interest www.worldbank.org.af – Projects & sing and includes investments in the power aligned with the government’s Reconstruction loans known as “credits”. The Bank has 16 Programs. and education sectors. active IDA projects in Afghanistan with net c For more information: see page 34. Afghanistan National Peace and Trust Fund The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) was established by the Government of Japan commitment value of over $1.9 billion. Since the adoption of the Afghanistan International Development Framework. The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund in 2000 as a means of supporting activities National Peace and Development Frame- Finance Corporation Multilateral The World Bank Group strategy (ARTF) is a partnership between the interna- that directly respond to the needs of poor and vulnerable groups, enhance their capaci- aims to help Afghanistan: work (ANPDF), the World Bank’s engage- Investment tional community and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA) ties, and strengthen their empowerment and ment has become increasingly program- The International Finance Corporation (IFC), • Build strong and accountable participation in the development process. matic. Underpinned by advisory work, both the World Bank Group’s private sector deve- Guarantee Agency institutions to support the go- to improve effectiveness of the reconstruc- The fund is administered by the World Bank. policy and investment lending focus on the tion effort. As of January 20, 2019, 34 donors lopment arm, is supporting economic deve- vernment’s state-building ob- The Government of Japan and the World main engagement clusters: macro-fiscal The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agen- have contributed over $11.4 billion, making lopment in Afghanistan by providing a broad Bank agreed to set up a special window wit- management and institution building, sti- suite of investment services to the private cy (MIGA) has $116.5 million of gross expo- jectives and enable the state to the ARTF the largest contributor to the hin JSDF to support activities in Afghanistan mulating private investments and growth sure for two projects in dairy and cashmere fulfil its core mandate to deli- Afghan budget—for both operating costs sector, particularly in the infrastructure, fi- under a multi-year program of assistance for to create jobs, governance and anti-cor- production. and development programs. nance, agribusiness, and services sectors. ver basic services to its citizens, the country’s reconstruction and transition to- ruption, human capital development and The investment program is supported Among MIGA’s global priorities for FY The ARTF’s support for National Priority and create an enabling environ- ward political, economic, and social stability. service delivery, citizen engagement and by advisory services, including access to 2018–2021 are support for Foreign Direct Programs (NPPs), operating costs of govern- As of January 2019, JSDF’s total commit- gender equality, as well as urbanization, finance, corporate governance enhance- Investment (FDI) with high developmen- ment for the private sector; ment operations, and the policy reform ment had reached $85 million. A number of infrastructure, and connectivity. ment, environmental and social mana- tal impact in IDA countries and fragile and • Support inclusive growth, with agenda is contributing to the achievement JSDF-financed projects have been completed. The Bank has actively supported key re- conflict affected situations. Afghanistan is a of the ANPDF goals. More than $5 billion has gement system, strengthening horticul- a focus on lagging areas and ur- c For more information: forms, particularly in the fiscal and public ture export, access to renewable energy, key country for MIGA in terms of delivering been disbursed to the government to help ban informal settlements; and http://go.worldbank.org/U5OQZVF200 n administration spheres, and through its and investment climate reforms, for both on these objectives. cover recurrent costs, such as civil servants’ • Deepen social inclusion through 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 to improve their technical competencies and pedagogical skills. Afghanistan Second Further, ASPD II is financing an academic partnership contract with Pune University Skills Development in India to enable 20 faculty members from Project (ASDP II) the National Institute of Management and Administration to undertake master’s degree cIDA grant $55 million courses. The project supports the Government of A series of memorandum of understand- Afghanistan in its strategy to build market ing is also being finalized with other Indian relevant vocational and technical skills for host institutions to provide one-year diplo- economic growth and development. Build- ma courses in specific trades to some 200 ing on the former Afghanistan Skills Develop- TVET teachers selected through a competi- ment Project, this program will continue to tive process. strengthen the Technical Vocational Educa- In addition, over 522 TVET graduates have tion and Training (TVET) institutional system, been supported with scholarships through a improve performance of TVET schools and in- voucher program, which facilitates further stitutes, and improve teacher competencies. professional studies for meritorious students In July 2017, the project was restructured to who have graduated from TVET institutes. reemphasize its focus on the development ob- jective of improving TVET teacher competen- Strengthening cies and curriculum in selected priority trades. The purpose of restructuring was to sup- Women’s Economic port implementation of the significant new Empowerment Project skills development reforms that the govern- ment has launched. The reforms include (i) (SWEEP) realignment of the TVET sector with labor cJSDF Grant $2.7 million market needs in eight priority trades, includ- ing areas with potential to improve women’s SWEEP is a three-year pilot project im- labor force participation; (ii) assessment of Women in rural and plemented by the Aga Khan Foundation- the qualification of all TVET teachers; (iii) semi-rural areas stand Afghanistan in close coordination with the to benefit from the training abroad offered to the best qualified; Upon request of the TVETA, the World Bank Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Strengthening Women’s (iv) mobilizing four lead institutes to support has initiated an institutional and capacity Economic Empowerment Disabled. SWEEP was requested by the gov- teacher assessments/training in the eight pri- assessment of the Authority to improve ef- Project, which will support ernment to develop tools and methods and self-help groups to ority trades; (v) upgrading and standardizing ficiency and capacity in service delivery. An provide a platform to share experiences to in- develop and build capacity. competency-based curriculum across the pri- action plan with concrete steps for improv- Participants will be given form the Women’s Economic Empowerment ority trades; and (vi) implementing a teacher ing TVETA’s implementation capacity is being training and access to National Priority Program (see page 28). business development policy framework to guide reforms in teacher developed. The main beneficiaries will be poor women services and finance. recruitment, management, and training. Four lead institutes located in Herat, Kabul, in select rural and peri-urban areas. SWEEP To streamline institutional capacity to and Nangarhar have been competitively will support the development and capacity deliver on the human capital development selected for targeted support and capac- building of clusters (self-help groups com- agenda, GoIRA has established a standalone ity building to serve as national or regional prising community-based savings groups), TVET Authority (TVETA). The mandate for hubs for teacher training and curriculum and provide them with training, business vocational education has been transferred development. development services, and access to finance. from the Ministry of Education and Deputy To further support technical teacher train- A baseline survey was completed in October Minister for TVET to the TVETA, which has ing, an in-service Technical Teacher Training 2018, followed by implementation of the been tasked to oversee the coordination and Institute (TTTI), established in 2013, has project in November 2018. implementation of TVET policy. trained more than 1,000 technical teachers Country Update/ ongoing operations 8/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/9 / financial sector Afghanistan Financial Sector Rapid Access to Finance Response Project Project (FSRRP) cIDA grant $50 million cIDA Grant $45.7 million The Access to Finance Project aims to build The project is assisting the Da Afghanistan institutional capacity to improve access Bank (DAB), the central bank, to develop a set to credit of micro, small, and medium en- of action plans to improve banking supervi- terprises. The project has the following sion and implement a modern payment sys- components: tem for efficient and transparent payment Component 1: Improving access to finan- transactions. Specifically, the project aims to cial services for micro and small enterprises. allow DAB to accurately assess the financial This component aims to provide continuing situation of 10 commercial banks through support to the microfinance sector through audits conducted in accordance with inter- the Microfinance Investment Support Facility national standards. The audits will lead to for Afghanistan (MISFA), as well as, support- the development of action plans to address ing MISFA to take on a broader role as a cata- weaknesses that are identified, with over- lyst for innovations to increase access and sight from DAB. usage of financial services from the lower The project also aims to modernize the end of the market according to its new stra- national payment system with the goal of re- tegic plan. It should, however, be underlined ducing the use of cash transactions, the main that the role of MISFA is primarily that of means of making payments in Afghanistan, market facilitator, rather than direct techni- and transitioning to electronic, card or mobile cal assistance provider. payments. The project will also provide fur- Component 1 is under implementation and ther support to the Afghanistan Institute of MISFA has initiated a series of activities, in Banking and Finance (AIBF) to allow it to scale particular the scaling up of the Targeting the up its activities, in order to increase the avail- Ultra Poor (TUP) program. The TUP program ability of banking sector skills. has been completed in four provinces (Balkh, The project was restructured and a first ad- Kunar, Laghman, and Takhar) and is ongoing ditional financing to the project ($6.7 million) in two more provinces (Kabul and Kandahar). Small businesses, such as this carpet shop, have supported selected technical assistance ac- Initial results from the baseline survey of been able to grow their tivities originally financed under the Financial the impact evaluation show that the TUP enterprises as a result of Sector Strengthening Project, which closed in selection process was able to identify house- support from the Access to Finance project, which has June 2014. The additional financing targeted holds that—across a range of dimensions— enterprises (SMEs). The aim is to increase Credit Guarantee Foundation. Component 2 encouraged innovations activities to strengthen DAB’s capacity and were worse off than the average resident in commercial bank and microfinance institu- supports the provision of credit guarantees to increase access to and the establishment of a Public Credit Registry. target areas, and arguably more in need of tion (MFI) lending to SMEs and thus facilitate for SMEs. usage of financial services AIBF has trained over 7,800 professionals from the lower end of the support. Overall, the very high observed pov- their access to financial services. It will sup- A project restructuring has been com- market. from commercial banks in different training erty rates and low access to services highlight port the expansion of the Afghanistan Credit pleted to extend the project closing date to programs, exceeding the set target of 6,000 the important challenges that these house- Guarantee Facility and provide technical as- June 30 to extend among others, the TUP at project’s end. holds face and how the program may help sistance to commercial banks to strengthen program to two more provinces (Parwan and The audits of the 10 commercial banks shift them closer to sustainable livelihoods. their SME lending capacity. This component Nangarhar) and to engage further on impor- were completed in June 2012. A follow-up impact survey is being un- will include support to the Credit Guarantee tant topics, including access to agriculture A Movable Collateral Registry and a Public dertaken to provide further insights on the Facility to provide coverage to MFI lending to finance and digital financial services. Credit Registry are now fully operational. The multidimensional impact of the TUP pro- the lower end of the SME market. Movable Collateral Registry, established in gram. Preliminary results will be presented Implementation of Component 2 started February 2013, and the Public Credit Registry, by June 2019. in June 2017, after an implementation part- launched in December 2013, are key build- Component 2: Improving access to fi- nership agreement was signed between the ing blocks in the infrastructure of the Afghan nancial services for small and medium Ministry of Finance and the Afghanistan financial system. Having both systems fully Country Update/ ongoing operations 10/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/11 Afghanistan organized around three complementary in- vestment components: Incentive Program • Strengthening institutional and technical Development Policy capacity of relevant institutions and supporting the development of a Public Grant (IP-DPG) Investment Management–Public-Private Partnership framework; IDA Grant $100 million c • Supporting the establishment and opera- ARTF Grant $300 million c tion of an Investment Project Preparation The IP-DPG operation supports continued pro- Facility, including the development of its gress on key reforms under the Afghanistan governance structure, institutional roles National Peace and Development Framework. and responsibilities; and The operation will provide up to $400 million • Project management. of recurrent cost support to the Government of Afghanistan to support vital services, mo- bilized against a series of high priority policy Fiscal Performance and institutional reforms. Improvement Support This is the second of three planned op- erations aligned with the government’s cur- Project (FSP) rent three year program of policy reforms. IDA Grant $25 million c Supported reforms are organized under two ARTF Grant $75 million c pillars: (i) strengthening the policy framework Government of Afghanistan c to support state effectiveness, private invest- $100 million ment, and social inclusion; and (ii) improving FSP is designed to improve management of the policy and institutional framework for public finances in Afghanistan by strength- public financial management. ening the capacity of the Ministry of Finance Reforms under the first pillar support de- (MoF), National Procurement Authority, velopment of e-payments and mobile money, and Supreme Audit Office. It will support civil service reforms, access to finance, power the implementation of the Afghanistan sector reform, land titling, and water produc- The Financial Sector Fiscal Performance Improvement Plan (FPIP) Rapid Response Project tivity. Reforms under the second pillar support through recipient-executed investment assists DAB in its an improved public investment management functional has streamlined SME applications the additional financing, a new core banking financing. efforts to strengthen system, tax administration, and accountabil- for banking loans and supported banks’ lend- system will be in place to enable DAB to bet- its regulatory capacity The project aims to improve domestic rev- and to fulfil its role in ity of public finances. ing decisions. ter manage the sector’s risk and strengthen enue mobilization and public expenditure implementing monetary Establishment of the national card and its oversight. management, and to reinforce a perfor- Afghanistan: (PPIAP) policy. In particular, the mobile payment switch has been finalized There is increased focus to invest in DAB central bank is investing in mance-oriented management culture in MoF. Public-Private under the Afghanistan Payment System that staff to enhance the effectiveness of its staff skills and knowledge FSP, which came into effect in January and supporting more than was officially inaugurated by the DAB gover- regulatory capacity. To this effect, DAB’s 2018, provides strategic support at a criti- Partnerships and a quarter of its employees nor on April 26, 2016. The contract to develop Talent Development Program was launched to pursue a university cal moment in Afghanistan’s development. Public Investment the Automated Transfer System (ATS) was in February 2018 and will fund tuition for degree or professional Improved public financial management and certification.. awarded to the recommended firm on April bachelor and master’s programs in Kabul for revenue generation is central to the govern- 15, 2016. ATS will modernize the national eligible staff (see page 12). Some 700 DAB Advisory Project ment’s self-sufficiency agenda. payment system for efficient and transparent employees have been given the opportunity FSP focuses on four key result areas: (i) im- IDA Grant $20 million c payment transactions. The new payments to pursue a degree or professional certifica- proved development budget execution rate; ARTF Grant $30 million c infrastructure and its subcomponents will tion, with 220 having completed or enrolled (ii) increased domestic revenue as a percent- enhance financial intermediation and enable in a bachelor or master's program. PPIAP will work with the government and, in age of GDP; (iii) increased compliance with safety and efficiency of the financial system. A DAB delegation also visited Bangladesh particular, the central Partnerships Authority audit recommendations; and, (iv) improve- Activities supporting the national payment Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh, in in the Ministry of Finance, to develop a pipe- ment in core institutional capacity, represent- systems are ongoing. February 2018 to exchange experiences in line of feasible privately and publicly funded ed by a reduction in the number of long-term A second additional financing ($20 mil- implementing core banking system upgrades. projects. technical assistants. lion) was approved in October 2016. Under The project, implemented in July 2018, is Key implementation developments secured Country Update/ ongoing operations 12/  results to aim higher, Afghanistan’s Central Bank bet on upskilling employees • More than a quarter of employees at Afghanistan’s central bank, Da Afghanistan Bank, are pursuing a university degree or professional certification under a project to build the bank’s capacity. • By investing in staff skills and knowledge, the central bank is strengthening its regulatory capacity and its ability to fulfill its role in implementing monetary policy and ensuring transparency and stability in Afghanistan’s financial system. • The Financial Sector Rapid Response Project is assisting the central bank in this effort. E veryday, Madina Rasouli processes employee salaries and handles pension-related docu- ments at the central bank. The work is nei- ther complex nor difficult for Rasouli after four years working at the Human Resources department at Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB).. Rasouli, however, has not been able to move on in her career or apply for better positions because of her lack of qualification. She has a two-year diploma in mana- gement and had been unable to go further at university because she could not afford it. “I was always looking for an opportunity to get my BBA [Bachelor of Business Administration] one day,” says the 27-year-old. The opportunity came when she was selected by DAB to pursue a BBA course at Kardan Private University un- der the Financial Sector Rapid Response Project (FSRRP). Rasouli is one of some 700 DAB employees who have been given the opportunity to study for a bachelor’s or by the end, we will see its positive impact on our daily “ master’s degree at university or pursue professional and work.” technical courses under the DAB Talent Development By implementing the project, the central bank will also Program started by FSRRP in February 2018. These em- meet an International Monetary Fund benchmark that One of the ways to tackle corruption ployees will pursue professional courses related to their requires enhancing accounting staff capacity through work, such as Certified Internal Audit and Certified Anti professional certification, Pesarlai explains. Money Laundering Specialist. Asil Gul Totakhil, head of internal audits, agrees that and work at international standards is [by] Investing in People there is a huge need for professional certification at DAB. “There is no one in our internal audit department who investing in capacity building DAB, with 2,500 employees in 51 branches across the holds an internationally recognized professional certi- ” country, is investing in its staff to develop their skills and ficate, like the Certified Internal Audit credential, and improve the organization’s performance. The objective that is the harsh reality,” says Totakhil, who is pursuing a to equip all employees with much is to enable the central bank to play its role effectively in implementing monetary policies and regulations, and course himself and also encouraging his 44 colleagues in the department to do the same. needed up-to-date skills. in ensuring transparency and stability in Afghanistan’s financial system. Zabihullah Roohi, 33, a team leader in the internal audit department, also believes capacity building is an “DAB is a technical and professional organization effective approach to achieving long-term goals at DAB. and we need to have professionals working here,” says “One of the ways to tackle corruption and work at inter- –Zabihullah Roohi, team leader, DAB internal audit department. Basharmal Pesarlai, DAB Human Resources Director. national standards is investing in capacity building to “FSRRP is the only big project focusing on capacity buil- equip all employees with much needed up-to-date skills,” ding of DAB employees. We know its value and I am sure he says. Country Update/ ongoing operations 14/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/15 to date include: its piloting of Electronic Government The Fiscal Performance Improvement Support (i) Budget Processes; Fiscal Policy; and Procurement, with each of the following Project provides Development Policy: MoF has successfully modular systems now fully developed and strategic support at a implemented reforms to the budget pro- in various stages of implementation, and critical time in which improved public financial cess through a revised budget circular and information provided to the public via the management and revenue budget submission template. These reforms NPA website: (a) Afghanistan Procurement generation is central have introduced strategic screening and im- Contract Management System; (b) to the government’s self-sufficiency agenda. proved costing information in budget sub- Afghanistan Procurement Facilitation It has prioritized building missions, as well as including gender tagging System; (c) Afghanistan Contract Progress and retaining capacity, to support gender responsive budgeting. Monitoring System; and (d) Afghanistan particularly of women. This includes newly Development projects have been reviewed Vendor Registration and Classification launched comprehensive with an objective to create fiscal space by System, Works. programs to identify and identifying poorly performing/weak-execu- Open Contracting Partnership and Open train female talent in the Ministry of Finance. tion projects and flagging them for possible Contract Data Standards initiatives have cancellation. also advanced. To buttress procurement ca- National Priority Programs have been com- pacity and professionalization, batch central pleted and substantial progress made on recruitment of 697 procurement positions costed implementation plans. These docu- (to be transitioned into a professional cadre) ments will provide the basis for policy links has been completed. NPA has provided basic in future spending decisions. The executive training to the recruited staff. draft of the 1398 Budget has been prepared (v) Institutional Capacity and Performance successfully to reasonable timeframes. The Management: As part of the government’s budget documentation has included im- shift to a “Tashkeel [organizational structure] proved content on fiscal risks and contingent first” agenda, National Technical Assistance liabilities. (NTA) migration has commenced across all (ii) Tax Administration: The International FSP entities. MoF in particular has made con- Monetary Fund estimate of 2018 revenue/ siderable progress, rationalizing 53 percent GDP ratio is 11.8 percent, exceeding the of its NTAs under FSP. Year 1 FSP target. Implementation of the FSP further prioritizes sustainably build- Afghanistan Revenue Department value- ing up and retaining capacity, particularly of added tax, communication, and Single Large women. This includes newly launched com- Modernizing Afghan Taxpayer Office is underway. (iii) Customs Administration: The prehensive programs to identify and groom female talent in MoF and the automatic State-Owned Banks Automated Systems for Customs Data transfer to civil service positions of women Project (ASYCUDA) roll-out is continuing, with 18 cus- completing ongoing internship programs IDA Grant $40 million c toms offices connected and additional mod- (that favor inclusion of female applicants) in ules being added. The Afghanistan Customs the NPA. These programs are strengthened The project aims to strengthen corporate gov- Department has also made changes to the by a benchmark of at least 30 percent par- ernance and enhance operational efficiency of selectivity criteria for the Risk Management ticipation of women across the civil service, state-owned banks. The project, implement- System, which has shown positive results as including in senior management positions. ed by the Ministry of Finance, will contrib- the number of red channel declarations re- For performance management, a scoping ute to the modernization, transparency, and quiring physical inspections have come down report has been completed to guide collabo- efficiency of the three Afghan state-owned significantly. UNCTAD’s contract for ASYCUDA rative leadership skills and strengthen the banks: New Kabul Bank, Bank Millie Afghan, implementation has also been extended for cohesiveness and effectiveness of leadership and Pashtany Bank. It will modernize their IT the next three years, which also covers a sub- teams in the context of FPIP. Implementation infrastructure and develop sustainable busi- stantial transition. The feasibility study for of its recommendations has been initiated ness models to support inclusive growth. implementing a National Single Window and with Bank support. The MoF Performance The project has been effective since April establishing a Trade Information Portal is also Management Team has also developed and 2018. It is supporting the strengthening of progressing well and on track to be complet- launched a publicly accessible web-based the corporate governance framework for ed by June 2019. Afghanistan Performance Management state-owned banks, which has recently led to (iv) Procurement Reform: The National Information System. the development of an ownership policy and Procurement Authority (NPA) has advanced establishment of an ownership unit. Country Update/ ongoing operations 16/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/17  / health HEALTH INDICATORS Afghanistan ON POSITIVE TREND Sehatmandi (Health) UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY RATE Project DROPPED from 257 to 55 per IDA Grant $140 million c 1,000 live births from 2003 to ARTF Grant $425 million c 2018 . Global Financing Facility c Grant $35 million NEWBORN MORTALITY RATE The project aims to increase the utilization FELL from 53 to 23 per 1,000 live and quality of health, nutrition, and family births from 2003 to 2018. planning services across Afghanistan. The project comprises three components: Component 1: To improve service delivery, NUMBER OF FUNCTIONING this component will finance performance- HEALTH FACILITIES INCREASED based contracts to deliver the Basic Package to more than 2,800 in 2018 from of Health Services and Essential Package of 496 in 2002, while at the same Hospital Services across the country. time the proportion of facilities Component 2: To strengthen the health system and its performance, this component with female staff increased. will support a systematic organized approach to establish a performance management cul- BIRTHS ATTENDED BY SKILLED ture in the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) HEALTH PERSONNEL AMONG and among stakeholders. Component 3: To strengthen demand and THE LOWEST INCOME QUINTILE community accountability for key health INCREASED to 59 percent from The number of functioning 15.6 percent. services, the third component will finance a health facilities has range of activities, including communication increased fourfold since campaigns aimed at raising overall aware- 2002 with support of PENTA3 IMMUNIZATION health projects such as ness of health rights as well as specific health behaviors to support MoPH and service pro- countries, indicating a need to further decrease Sehatmandi, which aims COVERAGE MORE THAN to further improve service The United Nations Inter-Agency Working viders to be more responsive to community barriers for women in accessing services. delivery, strengthen the Group for Estimation of Maternal Mortality DOUBLED (a combination of five health needs. Afghanistan also has one of the high- health system and its will consider the available data to come up vaccines in one covering polio, performance, and increase The Afghan health system has made con- est levels of child malnutrition in the world. demand and community with the best estimate for MMR shortly. diphtheria, Pertussis, tetanus, siderable progress during the past decade About 36.6 percent of children under five accountability for key The MMR estimate seems inconsistent haemophilus influenzae type b, health services. thanks to strong government leadership, suffer from chronic malnutrition, and both with the significant increases in coverage and hepatitis B) from 29 percent sound public health policies, innovative ser- women and children suffer from high levels of skilled birth attendance (50.5 percent up to 61 percent among children age vice delivery, careful program monitoring of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. from 15.6 percent in 2003), improved quality and evaluation, and development assistance. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) has of care as shown by frequent health facility 12 to 23 months in the lowest Data from household surveys (between 2003 fallen significantly from 1,600 per 100,000 live surveys, improved physical access to services income quintile. and 2018) show significant declines in mater- births in 2002. The Afghanistan Demographic (a fourfold increase in the number of facilities nal and child mortality. Health Survey (ADHS) 2015 undertaken by since 2002) shown in the ADHS, as well as CONTRACEPTIVE PREVALENCE Despite significant improvements in the the Central Statistics Organization, with progress on other related impact indicators RATE INCREASED (using any coverage and quality of health services, as well funding support from USAID, indicated a (e.g., under-five mortality rate has declined to as a drop in maternal, infant, and under-five MMR estimate of 1,290 per 100,000 live 55 per 1,000 live births). Other survey-based modern method) to 19.8 percent mortality, Afghanistan health indicators are births. The ADHS, however, notes that the estimates also put the MMR significantly from 19.5 percent. still worse than the average for low-income MMR estimate seems to be an overestimate. lower than 1,290. Country Update/ ongoing operations 18/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/19 reserve of the country and coordinate its ac- Nurek power plant in Tajikistan) to Pakistan tivities with other governmental agencies and Afghanistan. and donors. At approval, CASA-1000 included the en- For the storage of grains, the project will gineering design, construction, and commis- upgrade two existing storage facilities, build sioning of high voltage alternating current four new large facilities, as well as build na- (HVAC) transmission lines and associated tional capacity in human resources to oper- substation in Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan; ate these facilities according to international high voltage direct current (HVDC) trans- standards. It is estimated that by end of this mission lines from Tajikistan to Pakistan five-year project, the overall storage capac- via Afghanistan; and three new HVDC con- ity for wheat will reach 200,000 metric tons, verter stations in Tajikistan, Pakistan, and sufficient for the consumption of 2 million Afghanistan. However, in 2016, the four Afghans for six months. countries restructured the project, in which the converter station in Kabul was dropped. Central Asia South Of the total project financing, Afghanistan has received $316.5 million in the form of an Asia Electricity IDA grant. The grant will support construction Transmission and of about 560 km of an overhead HVDC trans- mission line from Sangtuda converter station Trade Project in Tajikistan to Nowshera converter station (CASA-1000) in Pakistan. In addition, Afghanistan has re- ceived a $40 million grant from the ARTF for IDA Grant/Credit $526.5 million, c the CASA Community Support Program (see including $316.5 million IDA grant to page 42). Afghanistan Afghanistan is expected to receive 300 CASA-1000, covering Afghanistan, Kyrgyz MW of electricity import from Tajikistan and Republic, Pakistan, and Tajikistan, will put in Kyrgyz Republic through the existing 220 place the commercial and institutional ar- kV AC lines from Sangtuda substation, and rangements as well as the infrastructure Tajikistan to Chimtala substation in Kabul The CASA-1000 project required for 1,300 megawatts (MW) of sus- via Pul-e-Khumri. Da Afghanistan Breshna is on track to build Sherkat (DABS), Afghanistan’s electricity electricity transmission tainable electricity trade. / infrastructure Afghanistan Strategic lines to transmit excess The total project cost is estimated at company under the Ministry of Energy and summer hydropower $1.17 billion, to which the World Bank Water, is the implementing agency for the Grain Reserve Project energy from existing has contributed $526.5 million in loans Afghanistan portion of this project, which Afghanistan Digital power plants in Kyrgyz Republic and and grants to the four countries. Several include a Security Management Plan for both IDA Grant $20.3 million c CASA 1 Project JSDF Grant $9.7 million c Tajikistan to Pakistan and Afghanistan. other development partners are also pro- the construction and operation phase. CASA-1000 came into effect in January Afghanistan is expected viding financing for CASA-1000, including IDA Grant $51 million c the Islamic Development Bank, European 2018. Three contracts for the HVDC transmis- The project will enable the Ministry of to receive 300 MW of The project, which came into effect in March Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock to estab- electricity import. Bank for Reconstruction and Development, sion line in Afghanistan were given no objec- 2018, aims to increase access to affordable lish a strategic wheat reserve to be available United States Government, United Kingdom tion by the World Bank in December 2017 internet, attract private investors to the sec- to Afghan households to meet their needs Department for International Development, and signed in the same month. Survey and tor, and improve the government’s capac- following any unforeseen emergency situ- and United States Agency for International design works have started. According to the ity to deliver digital government services by ation that affects access to wheat for their Development. contract’s schedule, construction of the line is supporting a regionally integrated digital consumption, and to improve the efficiency CASA-1000 will build more than 1,200 kilo- expected to begin from the second quarter of infrastructure and creating an enabling en- of grain storage management. meters (km) of electricity transmission lines 2019. vironment. The Ministry of Communications The project will support the establishment to transmit excess summer hydropower en- The contract for preparation of the coun- and Information Technology is the imple- of a governmental semi-autonomous corpo- ergy from existing power plants (such as the try-specific Environment and Social Impact menting agency. ration to be in charge of managing the grain Toktogul power plant in Kyrgyz Republic and Assessment for the HVDC transmission line is Country Update/ongoing operations 20/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/21 under implementation. DABS is in the process Irrigation Restoration of selecting an international consultant to prepare the Resettlement Action Plan for the and Development line. A contract for Project Owner’s Engineer Project (IRDP) for the HVDC components of the CASA-1000 was awarded in November 2018. IDA Grant $97.8 million c Procurement for the majority of key in- ARTF Grant $118.4 million c frastructure packages under CASA-1000 Government of Afghanistan c in the other three countries has also been $3.5 million completed, including the procurement for The project builds upon and scales up ac- the two convertor stations in Tajikistan and tivities supported under the completed Pakistan for which the contracts were signed World Bank-financed Emergency Irrigation in September 2018 Rehabilitation Project, closed in December 2011. Herat Electrification After project restructuring and additional financing in July 2016, IRDP envisages sup- Project port to rehabilitate irrigation systems serving some 215,000 hectares of land and design IDA Grant $60 million c of a limited number of small multi-purpose The project aims to support DABS provide dams and related works, while establishing electricity to over 230,000 people, and 1,600 hydro-meteorological facilities and services. institutions and businesses in selected areas Progress had been made in all areas. In the in Herat Province. irrigation component, a total of 185 irrigation The project will support investments schemes has been rehabilitated, covering for (i) building a new 110 kV transmission over 203,000 hectares of irrigation command line to Karokh district and Karokh, Pahstun area (compared to the end project target of Zarghoon, Obe, and Chesht-e-Sharif 110/20 215,000 hectares and over 425,000 farmer kV substations, and medium and low volt- households). age distribution networks in four districts of In the small dam component, a prefeasi- Herat Province; (ii) extension, intensification, bility review of 22 small dams resulted in a A total of 185 irrigation schemes have been and upgrading the existing grid to provide ac- feasibility study being conducted on the six rehabilitated under the cess to new or improved electricity service to best ranked dams in the northern river basin Irrigation Restoration and other parts of Herat Province; and (iii) piloted (which is not on international rivers). A let- Development Project, covering over 200,000 construction of solar mini-grids and solar-hy- ter has been sent to MoF for dropping the hectares of irrigation brid mini-grids in villages that are unlikely to detailed social and environmental study be- command area. This nance (O&M) work is ongoing. In addition, Kabul, Kandahar, Mazar, and Zaranj) com- obtain grid electricity in less than five years. cause the government will take the detailed has led to improved 40 cableway stations for flow measurement pleted and recruitment of the implement- irrigation and better water at selected hydrology stations have been in- ing company for Kabul city is underway; and The contracts for construction of the 110kV design and construction of those six best management in these transmission line, the four 110kV substations ranked dams in the feasibility study. areas, resulting in higher stalled and installation of 30 cableways are hydrogeological maps have been prepared and electrification of the four districts have Further, dam safety manuals and mi- agricultural yields and ongoing. Further, a national O&M team has for the Preliminary National Ground Water household incomes. “Our been established to take care of O&M of all Potential Map and National Data Availability/ been awarded and work is underway. nor repair works for two dams, Qargha and problems are solved and The project will also support review of Darunta, are in progress. Dam safety guide- we are very happy now,” hydrological stations. Well Depth-Water Level/Water Quality Maps. existing standards, procedures, and prepa- lines for Afghanistan have been developed says a farmer in Nangarhar Progress to date also include: Panj-Amu province. River Master Plan Concept Note approved; ration of a grid code for the Afghan power and awaiting official approval. system consistent with best international In the hydro-met component, installation transboundary policy presented to the cabi- practices. The contract for a consultancy ser- of 127 hydrological stations and 56 snow and net, all comments incorporated, and now vice to prepare the grid code is under pro- meteorological stations located in various lo- under finalization; terms of reference for hy- curement and the contract is expected to be cations on the five river basins in the country drogeology drilling test wells and geophysical signed by end of March 2019. is completed and operations and mainte- survey for seven cities (Farah, Herat, Jalalabad, Country Update/ ongoing operations 22/  results irrigation rehabilitation reduces water-related conflicts in rural Afghanistan • Fewer water-related conflicts and an increase in harvest and income are the tangible results of the rehabilitation of an irrigation scheme serving three villages in Nangarhar province. • The upgrades, carried out under the Irrigation Restoration and Development Project, benefit thousands of villagers through more efficient water management and usage. • The project also has been instrumental in helping farmers combat the effects of drought. T he farmland is lush with crops in expectation of a good harvest. Farmer Ilband, 73, is grate- ful that a good water supply has allowed him to grow a variety of crops on his seven jeribs (1.3 hectares) of farmland in Samarkhil village. He is equally pleased that by reducing water loss, irrigation has improved and conflict among farmers over access to water resources has been reduced. “There are no more arguments,” he says. “Everyone has enough water to irrigate their land.” Conflict over irrigation water was a daily occurrence among the far- mers in Samarkhil village before the village irrigation scheme was rehabilitated. Previously, each farmer had to argue with others to convince them of their irrigation needs. It was worse during the summer seasons, when water supply was lower. “Every single day, I had to argue with other farmers over water division,” says Ilband. The tensions were predictable. Water is a vital resource Increase in Agricultural Productivity “ in the area, as most people earn their living from agricul- ture or supplement their income by growing peaches, In the eastern region of Afghanistan, IRDP covers apricots, and citrus fruits. The irrigation scheme was re- Laghman, Kunar, Nangarhar, and Nuristan provinces, habilitated by the Ministry of Energy and Water in 2015– where it has rehabilitated over 20 irrigation schemes. Our activities have enabled farmers 2016 under the Irrigation Restoration and Development “Our activities have enabled farmers to have sufficient ” Project (IRDP) at a budget of about 13.5 million afghanis water throughout the seasons while saving a great (about $192,500). amount of time and money,” says Zahirullah, 43, an IRDP to have sufficient water throughout the seasons while The rehabilitation project included building protec- social worker, who liaise between the project and com- tion walls, footbridges, and lining for the canal that munity. Moreover, many villagers have been given the saving a great amount of time and money. reaches some 330 hectares of farmland in Samarkhil and the nearby villages of Araban and Saracha Alikhil, opportunity to supplement their income by working on the reconstruction of the canals. which altogether are home to more than 11,000 people. Although Nangarhar province is not different from –Zahirullah, social worker, IRDP Since the repairs, water loss has decreased drama- tically, improving farmers’ access to water resources other provinces in being affected by drought, IRDP’s re- habilitation of existing irrigation schemes has increased throughout the year. Before the improvements, Ilband canal efficiency by minimizing water loss and optimizing could cultivate his land only twice a year at most, and in water use for irrigation. As a result, production and pro- some years when water in the canal was especially low, ductivity have increased in the project areas, enhancing he could not farm at all. But now, Ilband has been able to livelihoods. IRDP has been instrumental in increasing cultivate a variety of different crops, enjoying good har- the adequacy and reliability of irrigation water to help vests through the seasons. farmers combat the effects of drought. Country Update/ ongoing operations 24/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/25 / rural development build a financial discipline through savings and internal lending practices, and technical Afghanistan Rural support to enterprises. The project established 5,450 SGs with a Access Project (ARAP) membership of some 61,460 rural poor (54 c IDA Grant $125 million percent women) in 694 villages. The SGs c ARTF Grant $312 million saved over $5.56 million and members ac- cessed more than 52,450 internal loans (65 ARAP aims to enable rural communities percent by female members) for productive across Afghanistan to benefit from improved and emergency purposes with a repayment access to basic services and facilities through rate of 95 percent. all-weather roads. The project is expected to To generate economies of scale, 524 VSLAs increase the number of people living within were established as federations of the SGs 2 kilometers (km) of all-season roads, reduce and maintained accurate and up-to-date travel time to essential services, and enable records of accounts with good governance rural communities to access essential servic- structure in place. On average each VSLA had es more frequently. $4,335 as loanable capital, which was boost- As of January 31, 2019, construction of 650 ed with a seed grant injection. This improved km of secondary gravel roads, 260 km of sec- access to finance for group members who ondary asphalt roads, and 2,360 km of ter- wanted to increase productivity or engage in tiary roads has been completed. In addition, entrepreneurial activities but could not ac- 1,480 linear meters of secondary bridges and cess such funds from commercial banks or 1,840 linear meters of tertiary bridges have microfinance institutions. been built. AREDP also worked toward strengthening Routine maintenance of 1,300 secondary market linkages and value chains for rural roads and periodic maintenance of 1,600 km enterprises by providing technical support to of secondary roads have been undertaken as 1,436 Enterprise Groups (65 percent female) well as routine and periodic maintenance of and 645 small and medium enterprises (15 3,500 km of tertiary roads. percent female) that were selected for their Rollout of the first nationwide inventory potential as key drivers of rural employment and condition survey of rural roads has been and income generation. completed and over 90 percent of inventory Support was given to 161 Kochies (nomads) for secondary roads and above have been and 97 disabled people to enhance their en- completed for 32 out 34 provinces. terprise development skills and productiv- The Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development ity. AREDP used Community Development Project set up over 5,000 Afghanistan Councils as an entry point into communi- ties and worked in 24 districts of five prov- egy, analyses of selected 6–8 value chains Savings Groups, which were federated into Rural Enterprise inces: Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Nangarhar, and (women orientated), and technical and mar- Village Savings and Loan Associations that improved Development Project Parwan. In preparation of the Women’s Economic keting support plans. Importantly, AREDP selected the prob- access to finance for many who could not access (AREDP) Empowerment project in 76 districts in all able districts and provinces for the Women’s funding from commercial banks or microfinance c IDA Grant $28.4 million 34 provinces, AREDP reviewed and devel- Economic Empowerment Rural Development institutions. As a result of oped its policies and plans to place women Project (see page 28) based on eight param- these activities, thousands c ARTF Grant $15.9 million of villagers, like this grocer, at the center. These included implementa- eters, such as poverty rate, involvement of cclosed on June 30, 2018 were able to start small tion strategies, a partnership model with fa- the ultra-poor, Citizens’ Charter presence, businesses. “We are so AREDP aimed to enhance economic mobi- cilitating partners in close collaboration with access to finance, National Horticulture and happy about this program. Without it, I would never lization and activities by organizing the ru- the Citizens’ Charter, Business Development Livelihood Project, and security and access. have had a small business,” ral poor into Savings Groups (SGs), Village Service Provisions/Resource Persons strate- This made its intervention strategy much says a small business Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs), and gies, a formal financial linkages model, revised more inclusive with likely convergence of on- owner. Enterprise Groups (EGs). The project provided structure for Pan-Afghanistan Intervention, going poverty reduction programs of differ- technical support to these groups so as to Community Institution Development strat- ent stakeholders. Country Update/ ongoing operations 26/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/27 Citizens’ Charter needs-based and based upon an initial gap and needs assessment against the minimum Afghanistan Project service standards. The investments include (Citizens’ Charter) water supply and a choice between basic road access, electricity, or small-scale irrigation. c IDA Grant $227.7 million (1b) Urban Areas Block Grants. The c ARTF Grant $444.3 million Independent Directorate of Local Governance (includes additional financing of IDA (IDLG)—the project’s urban implementing Grant $127.7 million and ARTF Grant $44.3 agency—has overall responsibility for the million for Citizens’ Charter Emergency grants to 600 urban CDCs and 120 Guzars Regional Displacement Response) (neighborhoods) in four major cities (Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad) to c Government of Afghanistan fund small infrastructure works. The menu $128 million of options includes street upgrading, parks, The Citizens’ Charter is the successor to lighting, provision of potable water, solid the highly successful National Solidarity waste management arrangements, and Programme (NSP), which introduced a com- women’s economic activities. This subcom- munity-driven development approach to- ponent supports service delivery linkages be- ward rural infrastructure and service delivery tween the CDC, cluster/Guzar, urban district, and reached about 35,000 communities over and municipality. 14 years. It is expected to be implemented Component 2: Institution Building. This over a period of four years. component supports capacity building, tech- The project will support the first phase of nical assistance, and community facilitation the Government of Afghanistan’s 10-year services. In rural areas, MRRD works with 14 Citizens’ Charter National Program and will facilitating partners (FPs) in undertaking ca- target one third of the country. pacity building and training of provincial and The Citizens’ Charter aims to improve the district staff to oversee, monitor, and report delivery of core infrastructure and social ser- on project progress, and Social Organizers; vices to participating communities through and provides engineering and technical sup- Desired change in strengthened Community Development port to communities across all 34 provinces. development is taking place in thousands of Councils (CDCs). These services are part of a In urban areas, IDLG works with UN Habitat, communities through minimum service standards package that the which serves as an Oversight Consultant, the activities of Management. This component supports the government is committed to delivering to the as well as four FPs on capacity building and strengthened Community management and oversight of the project at Development Councils citizens of Afghanistan. training of municipality staff to supervise, under the Citizens’ Charter the national, provincial, and district levels in The project has been set up as an inter- monitor, and report on project progress. Afghanistan Project. “In EXPECTED CITIZENS’ CHARTER RESULTS rural areas and the municipal management ministerial program for the delivery of a pack- Component 3: Monitoring and Knowledge the areas that we have units in the four regional hub cities. This in- covered, people feel closer Results expected under the first phase include : age of basic services and is structured around Learning. This component includes robust to the local government cludes areas such as policy and operational four components: supervision and learning activities from vil- and know that they • 10 million Afghans reached. planning; capacity building; management Component 1: Service Standards Grants. lage to national levels, exchange visits across also share responsibility in development,” says • 3.4 million people gaining access to clean drinking water. information systems; grievance redress This component supports two types of grants communities, especially for women, and sup- mechanisms; human resource management; to CDCs: the chairperson of a • Improvements to quality of service delivery in health, port for thematic studies and evaluations. It Community Development communications; donor and field coordina- (1a) Rural Areas Service Standards Grants. covers a range of participatory monitoring Council. education, rural roads, and electrification. tion; financial management and procure- The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and and evaluation tools, including the rollout of • Increase in citizen satisfaction and trust in government. ment functions; and safeguards oversight. Development (MRRD) has overall responsi- simple citizens’ scorecards to be completed • 35 percent return on investment for infrastructure projects. Component 5 (new under Additional bility for the implementation of the grants. by CDCs and Social Organizers to report on Financing): Social Inclusion and Maintenance This subcomponent supports delivery of the minimum service standards. and Construction Cash Grants (MCCGs). This minimum service standards on rural infra- Component 4 (new under Additional component will provide emergency short- structure. Allocations per community will be Financing): Project Implementation and term employment opportunities through Country Update/ ongoing operations 28/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/29 labor-intensive public works, as well as sup- port for collective action activities beyond Women’s Economic public works that are aimed to foster greater Empowerment Rural social inclusion and protect the ultra-poor/ vulnerable in communities. Development Project There are two subcomponents: (WEE-RDP) (i) Social Inclusion Grants and Collective c IDA Grant $25 million Action Activities will take the form of a c ARTF Grant $75 million “matching grant” up to a total value of $2,000 per community that will be used to WEE-RDP is a follow-on project to the provide incentives for community philan- Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development thropy. The combination of the matching Project (AREDP) that aims to increase social grant and community donations will be used and economic empowerment of poor rural in the first instance to initiate a food/grain women in selected communities. bank for the ultra-poor in each of the target- WEE-RDP will engage in 76 districts and ed communities. It is expected that this will 5,000 villages in all 34 provinces across be replenished periodically with additional Afghanistan and will work in close collabora- community donations. tion with the Citizens’ Charter, Ministry of (ii) MCCGs are to serve as quick-disbursing Rural Rehabilitation and Development pro- emergency grants for work/labor-intensive jects, the National Horticulture and Livestock public works schemes that are targeted at Project, the Access to Finance Project, and vulnerable households within the commu- microfinance institutions. The project has be- nities and managed through a community- gun mobilization through new Community driven development approach. The cash for Development Councils in the five provinces works will include repairs, rehabilitation, previously covered under AREDP. cleaning, expansion, or construction. Cash for WEE-RDP will provide support to com- services will target ultra-vulnerable house- munity-level women’s institutions through Women in rural areas will holds that cannot participate in public works. seed capital and technical assistance, and benefit from the Women's link them to formal financial institutions and Economic Empowerment Implementation progress to date includes: Rural Development Project, In rural areas: Over 8,487 community pro- markets to enable economic empowerment. which will work to increase files (CPs) completed; more than 8,150 new The project has three components: financial services for rural women through their social and economic Component 1: Community Mobilization empowerment. The project CDCs elected; over 6,911 Community Develop- partnerships with microfinance institutions will work in 76 districts ment Plans (CDPs) completed; and more than and Institution Development. It comprises and commercial banks to promote financial and 5,000 villages across 5,700 sub-project proposals prepared. (a) providing technical assistance to support inclusion of women groups; developing rel- Afghanistan. In urban areas: Implementation has been community mobilization for establishing evant financial products and services with rolled out in over 666 communities. A total self-help groups (SHGs) and federating them commercial banks and microfinance institu- of 633 CPs completed; 633 CDCs elected; into Village Loan and Savings Associations tions; eliminating institutional constraints 592 CDPs completed; and 509 sub-project (VLSAs), and Enterprise Groups (EGs) and on women’s access to formal financial ser- proposals approved. federating them into Producer Associations vices; exploring feasibility of piloting a sys- Overall, 90 percent of CDC membership in (PAs); and (b) carrying out a program of ac- tem, enabled by information technology, for areas previously covered by the NSP comprise tivities to strengthen capacity, quality, and delivery of financial products; and financial new members (i.e., those who had never pre- financial performance of SHGs, VSLAs, EGs, capacity building. viously served on CDCs) and close to half (47 and PAs. Component 3: Enterprise Development percent overall and 48 percent office bearers) Component 2: Access to Finance. It com- and Market Linkages. It comprises (a) provid- are women. This is evidence that the new prises (a) providing seed grants to eligible ing technical assistance and supporting pro- election system and norms on CDC govern- SHGs and VSLAs to establish long-term re- motional activities to strengthen the capacity ance are having a strong impact. volving funds; and (b) facilitating access to of EGs, PAs, and individual women entrepre- Country Update/ongoing operations 30/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/31 neurs to access markets and manage their businesses; (b) providing catalytic funds to / service delivery eligible EGs and PAs; and (c) supporting EGs, PAs, and/or individual women entrepreneurs Tackling Afghanistan’s through facilitating their partnerships with business enterprises to improve the supply Government HRM of business development services and access (Human Resource to markets. The 441 SHGs for women, formed under Management) and AREDP, are receiving their initial training. The Institutional Reforms program is also continuing business develop- ment support in the areas previously covered (TAGHIR) by AREDP. c IDA Grant $25 million c ARTF Grant $50 million TAGHIR is a new project that replaces the Trans-Hindukush Capacity Building for Results Facility and Road Connectivity will assist the Government of Afghanistan Project to deliver on its key policy priorities through merit-based recruitment and administrative c IDA Grant $250 million reforms in 16 line ministries. The project will support up to a total of 1,500 TThe project aims to support the govern- new civil service positions to enable the min- ment’s efforts to improve road transport links istries to meet objectives and deliver on their across the Hindukush mountain range, in- priorities. The Independent Administrative cluding the rehabilitation of the Salang road and Civil Service Reform Commission will lead and tunnel. It will develop existing mountain the project implementation. crossings into dependable, all-season roads that will allow the vital transport of passen- Remote communities gers and goods to cross the Hindukush moun- along a section of the route under construction Eshteghal Zaiee – tain range throughout the year. There are currently only two road cross- in the Hindukush mountains are already Karmondena Project ings over the mountain range, with the the implementation of the segments under experiencing the benefits of the Trans-Hindukush (EZ-Kar) Salang highway carrying most of the cross- construction. Road Connectivity Project, c IDA Grant $25 million Hindukush traffic and an unpaved second- The design consultancy for the Salang with quicker access to c ARTF Grant $50 million ary crossing between Baghlan and Bamiyan. Tunnel rehabilitation has advanced as per major roads taking them to jobs, health care and The project will carry out civil works for the schedule but early findings suggest that work EZ-Kar aims to strengthen the enabling en- markets. “People from upgrading of the Baghlan to Bamiyan (B2B) on B2B should be completed before rehabili- villages along the road vironment for economic opportunities in cit- road (152 km) into a paved road as well as the tation work on Salang tunnel starts. This may are very happy about the ies where there is a high influx of displaced plans of this project. It rehabilitation of the Salang road and tunnel have implication on the overall implementa- people. The project will support actions to will undoubtedly improve (87 km). tion schedule of the project. transportation services increase returnees' access to civil documents, Two out of the six segments along the B2B The grievance redress mechanism is opera- in the region and ease provide short-term employment opportuni- travel,” says a local imam in ties, improve market enabling infrastructure, road are under construction, namely seg- tional at various levels. Work has been sus- Bamyan province. ments 1 and 6. The design and procurement pended in the areas of segment 6 where 61 and support investor-friendly regulatory process of segments 2, 3, and 5 are well ad- people affected by the project have yet to be reforms. vanced. The procurement for Segment 4 is compensated. Meanwhile, the project has re- pending clearance of the Environmental ceived cabinet approval for the resettlement and Social Management Plan by the World payments for those affected. Bank. The Construction Supervision Unit of Mid-term review of the project is scheduled the Ministry of Public Works is supervising for June 2019. Country Update/ ongoing operations 32/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/33 / urban development Technical assistance to create a database and web architecture for key statistics, maps, Cities Investment and geographic information system data to facilitate better urban planning and results Program (CIP) monitoring. c IDA Grant $25 million Component 2: Urban Institutions: cARTF Grant $25 million Institutional and Capacity Development. Undertaking a functional review of current CIP aims to improve the sustainability and liv- planning functions, practices, and capacities ability of nine provincial capital cities (PCCs) at MUDH and the five PCCs, and developing by strengthening municipal capacity, man- an action plan to address deficiencies in le- agement, and infrastructure. gal/regulatory issues, processes, and staffing. The program will support the government Support for four “work streams” to provide di- and the PCCs to build municipal capacity to agnosis and recommendations on key policy improve revenue collection and design a sys- areas including urban planning and land use tem for performance-based fiscal allocations. management, affordable housing, urban re- It will also provide support to strength- generation, and municipal finance. en municipal planning and management Component 3: Urban Integration: through technical assistance, training, and Strengthening Urban Planning at National the supply of equipment and software. and Local Levels. Financing the completion of CIP will provide financing to five PCCs Strategic Development Plans (SDPs) for each (Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Khost, and of the PCCs that will identify medium-term Mazar-e-Sharif) to rehabilitate urgently need- development goals, based on a consultative ed basic municipal infrastructure to improve stakeholder engagement process. The SDPs service delivery and livability. This would con- will draw from data inputs in Component sist of localized and small-scale interventions 1, identify key challenges and development with limited and mitigatable environmental goals, and propose activity and investment and social impacts. plans to achieve them. The component will also build a culture of planning through de- Urban Development velopment of curriculum for urban planning practitioners. Support Project Component 4: Urban Investments: Five provincial capital cities will receive support from c IDA Grant $20 million Feasibility and Design Studies for Urban the Urban Development Infrastructure. Preparation of multi-year Support Project to The project will support the Ministry of strengthen city planning, capital investment plans (CIPs) linked to the Urban Development and Housing (MUDH) management, and SDPs for PCCs to undertake priority projects service delivery capacity. to create an enabling policy framework and (no regret, quick-win projects) and catalytic The project will also enhance urban policymaking capacity in rel- work to improve urban investments (identified under SDPs, economi- evant agencies at the national level, as well policymaking capacity at cally transformative projects). The CIPs would the national level. as strengthen city planning, management, also be used to develop a pipeline of bankable and service delivery capacity in five selected projects for financing under a future perfor- provincial capital cities (PCCs). These cities mance-based finance project. are Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, Khost, and Mazar-e-Sharif. The project consists of the following components: Component 1: Urban Information: Building an Urban Management Information System. 34/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/35 INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION The International Finance Corporation’s key department to be the regulator of licensing prong of engagement has been through and supervision of leasing companies to advisory support focused on improving the pave the way for developing leasing opera- investment climate and building capacity, tions under the conducive completed legal while supporting selective investments in framework. The project activities are focused sectors with high development impact and on raising awareness and building capacity job creation in line with the ongoing World to increase knowledge among stakeholders Bank Group’s Country Partnership Fra- (both government and private sector) on mework (2017 to FY 2020). the benefits of leasing, thus improving ac- Investment Portfolio cess to finance for micro, small, and medium IFC provides a mix of investments services in enterprises. Afghanistan, with a focus on financial inclu- sion, telecommunications, agribusiness, and Strengthening Afghanistan Horticulture infrastructure. IFC’s current cumulative com- Exports mitted portfolio stands at over $150 million, IFC is working to develop Afghanistan’s hor- including investment in Roshan Telecom, ticultural exports by helping agriculturists First Microfinance Bank, Afghanistan enhance efficiency and supporting the ex- International Bank, and Afghan Processing tension of market opportunities, both na- Plant (Rikweda). tionally and internationally. This project aims IFC investments have had a transforma- to improve the livelihood of horticulture tional impact in access to finance and out- farmers by linking them to fruit processing reach, particularly in the microfinance and companies through contract farming and telecommunication sectors. IFC will con- supporting processing companies to expand tinue to seek new investment opportunities their export markets. and engage with local players to support the development of Afghanistan’s private sector. Afghanistan Raisins Supply Chain The investment pipeline looks promising Development improve firm performance (improved deci- vide market intelligence, foster B2B linkages, and includes investments in the power, edu- The project aims to support the develop- sion-making, risk management, operating and raise consumer awareness on modern cation, and agribusiness sectors. ment of raisin supply chains in Afghanistan efficiency, profit, and valuations) and increase energy options. by building the capacity of a raisin process- access to finance (reduced costs of capital, ing firm, implementing and managing food improved loan terms, and increased access to Scaling Solar / ongoing advisory projects safety systems, financial management, and investors) by promoting better CG practices Scaling Solar is a “one stop shop” program supply chain development, thus, creating a among the banks in Afghanistan. for governments to rapidly mobilize privately Access to Finance best practice example for the rest of the in- funded grid connected solar projects at com- IFC provided assistance to DAB, the central dustry in the country. Lighting Afghanistan (LA) petitive tariffs. The program brings together bank, in collaboration with the World Bank’s LA is an integral part of IFC’s “Lighting Global” a suite of World Bank Group services under Financial Sector Strengthening Program to Corporate Governance (CG) program. It is a market transformation pro- a single engagement based on a template support the establishment of the first elec- The CG project aims to address foundational gram aimed at increasing access to clean, af- approach to create viable markets for solar tronic Movable Collateral Registry and the market failures in the Afghanistan banking fordable off-grid energy in rural Afghanistan power in each client country. Public Credit Registry. sector. Through scoping activities as well as through the private sector, by accelerating IFC’s transaction advisory team is support- IFC has helped DAB establish the leasing prior work in this sector, a combination of the development of a sustainable commer- ing GoIRA to attract private sector partici- law and the regulatory framework for leas- market failures has been identified at all lev- cial market for high quality solar products. pation in the development of the first solar ing. IFC also assisted DAB with the establish- els, i.e., individual bank, regulatory, and sector. The program works with international and lo- power plant of up to 40MW under the Public ment of a leasing licensing and supervision IFC is working with banks to help them cal firms to remove market entry barriers, pro- Private Partnership model. Country Update/ IFC 36/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/37 ducive to private sector growth through The project objectives are to (i) streamline the investment climate program’s sub- the legal and regulatory framework for doing projects: (i) Business Licensing Reform pro- business reforms; (ii) strengthen interagency ject: phase II, and (ii) Business Enabling coordination mechanisms on investment Environment Project. Another sub-project, climate reforms and establish effective the Agribusiness Export Competitiveness public-private dialogue mechanisms; and (iii) project, is in the pipeline. implement a Systematic Investor Response Business Licensing Reform Project – Phase II Mechanism (SIRM) to increase investment The Business Licensing Reform Project Phase retention. II is building on the reforms achieved in Phase The project has two components: I—the establishment of a one-stop shop for Component 1: Improve business enabling business registration and licensing at the environment and support institutional ca- Ministry of Commerce and Industries—with pacity building. It has three subcomponents: the overall goal to reduce the time and cost 1.1. Assist the Government of Afghanistan of business licensing and renewals in the in developing and implementing business country, and rollout of business licensing re- environment reforms in a selected number forms to provinces. of areas measured by the Doing Business The goal of the project will be achieved project. by streamlining procedures and supporting 1.2. Establish and strengthen the institu- institutional capacity building. The project tional mechanisms to support the invest- objectives are to (i) streamline procedures ment climate reform program. for new business licenses and license renew- 1.3. Identify gender-based differentiations als; (ii) reduce time to obtain new business in legal and regulatory frameworks that licenses and license renewals; and (iii) rollout affect women’s equal access to business business licensing reforms from Kabul to 21 opportunities. provincial offices of the Afghanistan Central Component 2: Investment Retention and Business Registry and Intellectual Property. Promotion The impact of the project will be in the In countries affected by fragility and violence The International Finance Corporation works to form of compliance cost savings for private (such as Afghanistan), attracting new inves- strengthen Afghanistan’s sector that will be achieved after project tors may be challenging but retaining exist- horticultural exports by Investment Climate helping farmers become The program is designed to tackle business completion. ing ones is necessary. Retaining investors in more efficient and Afghanistan Business Enabling Afghanistan requires a clear retention strat- and investment climate challenges of the supporting the extension of market opportunities, country. The overarching goal of the program Environment Project egy and targeted investment in building an both nationally and is to support improvements in the business The Business Enabling Environment project investment aftercare program complement- internationally. environment and help the government fa- is designed to catalyze doing business re- ed by SIRM. cilitate investment and trade. It aims at im- forms in Afghanistan. SIRM as an early warning and tracking proving the quality of business regulations, The focus of the project is on doing busi- mechanism to identify and resolve com- strengthening mechanisms for trade facili- ness areas with the greatest potential to con- plaints/issues that arise from government tation and export promotion, and enhanc- tribute to improving the investment climate conduct. The implementation of SIRM en- ing mechanisms for investment attraction and investment facilitation. The goal will be tails identifying an agency or a platform that and retention to reduce private sector’s cost achieved through supporting institutional has the capacity to mediate a solution to the of compliance (cost savings) in Afghanistan. capacity building, improved interagency co- problem facing an investor IFC is currently working to support the ordination and public-private dialogue, and Afghan government in promoting an in- management of investor grievances for in- vestment and business climate that is con- vestment retention. 38/  Country Update/ / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/39 AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION TRUST FUND AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund Implementation Support, Technical TRUST FUND (ARTF) was established in 2002 to provide Assistance Facility (ASIST); and (iv) Anti- a coordinated financing mechanism for Corruption and Results Monitoring Action GoIRA’s budget and national investment Plan (ACReMAP). The objectives of the ARTF are to: projects. Since its inception, 34 donors The Recurrent Cost Window reimburses • Position the national budget as have contributed over $11.4 billion to the the government for a certain portion of eligible and non-security related operat- the key vehicle to align the ARTF, making it the largest single source of on-budget financing for Afghanistan’s ing expenditure every year. The Investment reconstruction program with development. Window provides grant financing for na- national development tional development programs in the develop- ment budget. objectives. Management The ARTF has a three-tier governance frame- ASIST was developed in answer to GOIRA’s • Promote transparency and work (Steering Committee, Management request to the World Bank to provide more accountability of reconstruction Committee and Administrator), and three direct hands-on advisory services, imple- assistance. working groups. This sound framework has mentation support, and technical assistance enabled the ARTF to adapt to changing cir- to ensure more effective implementation of • Reduce the burden on limited cumstances and development priorities with ARTF programs and strengthening of govern- government capacity while consistency and consensus. The World Bank ment institutions and capacity in the devel- promoting capacity building is the administrator of the trust fund. opment and execution of national priority The Management Committee consists programs. over time. of the World Bank, Islamic Development The “window” to fund ARCReMAP is a re- • Enhance donor coordination for Bank, Asian Development Bank, United doubling of the World Bank’s commitment financing and policy dialogue. Nations Development Programme, Ministry to further ramp up its efforts on anti-corrup- of Finance, and United Nations Assistance tion and results monitoring in Afghanistan, The ARTF’s support of the The Recurrent Cost Window (RCW) erating budget. Domestic revenues continue Mission in Afghanistan as an observer. The where the Bank had already applied a more Grant $5.057 billion to be insufficient to cover the costs of gov- Management Committee meets regularly in stringent set of oversight mechanisms than government’s priority programs, ernment. The ARTF RCW has therefore en- Kabul to review ARTF finances and approve elsewhere. The World Bank, as a trustee and policy reform agenda, and the The objective of the Recurrent Cost Window sured the basic functioning of government, funding proposals. administrator of the ARTF, is committed to is to provide a coordinated and incentives- including the delivery of services such as strengthening its fiduciary oversight of ARTF- non-security operating costs of The ARTF Strategy Group, consisting of do- driven financing mechanism, enabling the healthcare and education. Given that around nors and MoF, meets monthly to review the financed projects both to minimize risks of government operations contri- Afghan government to make predictable, 60 percent of the non-uniformed Afghan implementation of the ARTF program and to fraud, corruption, and misuse of funds and butes to the achievement of timely, and accurate payments for approved civil service is accounted for by teachers, the discuss strategic issues. to maximize the fund’s development impact. recurrent costs—related to salaries and wag- Ministry of Education has in general received Afghanistan’s national strategic es of civil servants, and non-security related about 40 percent of total ARTF resources. The How the ARTF works Donor Contributions goals. government operating and maintenance Ministries of Public Health, Foreign Affairs, Donors contribute funds into a single ac- Donor contributions have increased year expenditures. Labor, Social Affairs, and Higher Education count held by the World Bank in the USA. The after year, with both old and new donors The Recurrent Cost Window was set up in have also been major recipients. ARTF Management Committee makes deci- contributing to the ARTF. Over the last few 2002 to help the Afghan government meet It should also be highlighted that the RCW sions on proposed allocations at its regular years the “preferenced” portion of donor con- its recurrent (operating) budget needs. The resources are national in scope, ensuring the meetings, and those decisions are translated tributions has been the main factor driving RCW has been restructured several times, payment of salaries of around 62 percent of into funds through Grant Agreements signed growth. The agreed ARTF rule is that donors most recently in 2018. For the first time, RCW non-uniformed civil servants in all 34 prov- between the World Bank as administrator may not “preference” more than half of their support is being provided through standard inces of the country. Steady year-on-year in- of the trust fund and the Government of annual contributions. This rule is to ensure World Bank instruments, including an annual creases in operating costs across government Afghanistan. that the ARTF has sufficient funding to fi- $300 million Development Policy Grant sup- mean the RCW accounts for a declining share ARTF allocations are made through four nance the Recurrent Cost Window and that porting key structural and policy reforms. of the overall budget. Nevertheless, the RCW “windows”: (i) Recurrent Cost Window; (ii) it retains some flexibility in the approval of To date, the ARTF has disbursed $5 billion still finances around 16 to 20 percent of the Investment Window; (iii) Advisory Services, projects in support of government priorities. through the government’s non-security op- government’s non-security operating budget. Country Update/artf 40/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/41 / ongoing projects fertilizer response, seed rate, and irrigation interval. Furthermore, civil works contracts for refurbishing seven research and seed pro- Afghanistan duction farms have been completed. Agricultural Inputs Component B: The work on the Nation- wide Pest and Disease Survey is progress- Project (AAIP) ing. To date, 54,000 seed samples have been Grant $67.25 million collected against the target of 140,000. In addition, 830 more people from among gov- AAIP aims to increase adoption of improved ernment staff, agrochemical traders, and crop production technologies. The agri- farmers have received training in five prov- culture sector is central to Afghanistan’s inces, while 20 pesticide and quarantine economy, employing 60 percent of the na- department employees undertook overseas tion’s workforce. As such, strengthening study tours. the institutional capacity of the Ministry of The project has continued to support the Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL), development of the regulatory framework and increasing investments for the safety for the control of pesticides, fertilizers, plant and reliability of agricultural inputs are in- protection, and quarantine. This will ensure valuable to support continued increase of quality agrochemicals are available to farm- agriculture productivity. ers as well as enable Afghanistan to meet Firstly, the project seeks to improve the its commitments as a new member of the technical and economic efficiency of the val- World Trade Organization. ue chain of certified wheat seed. The civil works contracts for nine border Secondly, building on the legal and regula- quarantine stations and laboratory complex tory framework that the project helped build have been completed, while work for the two during the preparation phase, the project is remaining stations (Torkham and Melak) is in developing the necessary accredited facilities progress. for plant quarantine networks and quality Component C: A pilot voucher system for control of agro-chemicals. wheat seed distribution for 6,000 farmers in Thirdly, guided by the results of field sur- four districts was successfully implemented, Research farms have veys carried out during the preparation resulting in an expansion of the initiative in improved their efficiency phase, the project is designing and piloting 2018, with AAIP technical support. The sec- through capacity building a demand-led action plan to improve and and infrastructural ond phase, funded by MAIL, covers 21,000 upgrades supported by the develop market-based input delivery sys- farmers in seven provinces. Afghanistan Agricultural tems for seeds. The sustainability of these target in 2019). OFWMP works to improve Inputs Project. Research interventions will be supported by capacity agricultural productivity in project areas by work on crops, such as building programs involving civil servants, Afghanistan On-Farm enhancing the efficiency of water use. potatoes and wheat, is vital as over 60 percent Water Management farmers, and traders. Over 500 km of irrigation canals (186 km of the nation's workforce Component A: The project has assist- planned) serving around 58,000 hectares is employed in agriculture ed the Agricultural Research Institute of Project (ha) of land have been rehabilitated and 614 and research is the backbone of improving Afghanistan to develop wheat varieties for irrigation associations (500 planned) estab- agriculture. “Without Grant $70 million research, we cannot submission to the National Seed Board. lished. Land-leveling activities have also start- introduce good seeds to Seven varieties have now been officially re- This pilot project is designed to support on- ed commercially, with over 700 ha of land farmers and we want leased against the accumulative target of farm water management investments in five laser-leveled in three provinces. The Farmer the farmers to have good five, while yield and agronomic trials at 11 regions (central, eastern, southwest, north- Call Center is fully functional, providing tech- products,” says a grain research director at one of locations are underway to assess regional east, northern) covering a total of 10,000 nical advice to nearly 13, 000 farmers and the farms. adaptation and to optimize planting date, hectares (Phase Zero) (59,000 hectares end herders to date. Country Update/ artf 42/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/43 Capacity Building for Central Asia South Results Facility Project Asia-1000 for Afghanistan Community Support Grant $150 million Program (CASA-CSP) closed on ecember 31, 2018 Grant $40 million Capacity Building for Results was a key ARTF CASA-CSP supports communities along the investment that supported government in CASA transmission line in Afghanistan. The developing its human resources, organiza- project was restructured last year and is now tional structures, and functions over the me- being implemented in alignment with the dium term to improve service delivery to the Citizens’ Charter Afghanistan Project and in population. close collaboration with CASA-1000. CBR promoted accountability in line min- The implementation has been a challenge istries by introducing results-based reform because the route still has not been finalized and service improvement programs. It was and there are more route alignment changes also a key tool for the government to reduce proposed for the transmission line, while the reliance on external technical assistance and agreement is that CSP will cover communi- parallel structures. ties within the four-km “corridor of influence” The grant helped finance the costs associ- along the transmission line. ated with (i) technical assistance for prepara- It is estimated that there will be more than tion and implementation of capacity building 580 communities in the seven provinces se- programs; (ii) recruitment of some 1,500 man- lected. During a mission in September 2018, agerial, common function, and professional it was agreed that work will begin soon in staff for key positions in selected line minis- communities along the parts of the route tries; (iii) a management internship program; that have been confirmed and MRRD will hire (iv) training of civil servants; and (v) project social mobilizers within 2-3 months to start management, monitoring, and evaluation. the social processes to form CDCs in the se- CBR was demand driven and open to all line lected communities. ministries and independent agencies. Based Further, the project plans to pilot an inno- on pre-agreed criteria, including service deliv- vative approach in 2-3 communities in part- ery potential and reform readiness, line min- nership with IFC’s “Lighting Afghanistan” to istries and agencies were grouped as either solar home systems and a “pay as you go” More women were given Category 1 (high priority) or Category 2. opportunities to work in model in partnership with the private sector. Category 1 ministries/agencies received government ministries full CBR reform support whereas Category under the Capacity 2 ministries received foundational (“CBR– DABS Planning Building for Results Facility Project, which Component 2: Development of a training work in DABS. Twelve female engineers were readiness”) inputs designed to upgrade them to Category 1. Ministries/agencies in and Capacity supported the government in developing its human center in Kabul. DABS does not have a train- hired as interns in DABS and assigned to dif- both categories developed a comprehensive Support Project resources, organizational structures, and functions ing facility for its staff, and this has been iden- ferent departments. reform plan (to be implemented with exist- to improve service delivery tified as a critical gap in its overall capacity Hiring of a training consultancy firm is its Grant $6 million to the population. building efforts. final stage with contract award expected in ing donor and government resources) with a results framework to which they were held The project aims to improve Da Afghanistan The project is supporting the preparation March 2019. Design of the training center is accountable. Breshna Sherkat (DABS) capacity in distribu- and implementation of annual O&M plans also complete and the bidding process for Under the project, 929 CBR positions were tion investment planning, implementation, for six major load centers using new proce- construction of the training center is in ad- contracted, 70 of whom were to women (7 and operation and maintenance. dures based on good international practice vance stage, with work expected to start in percent of contracted positions), while anoth- This project has two components: adjusted for local conditions. The project- the second quarter of 2019. Procurement er 348 recruitments were at various stages of Component 1: Staff capacity building, supported training and a new training center of equipment for the training center is de- quality review and approval. CBR also assist- which aims to support DABS capacity to plan are expected to improve skills of 90 percent of layed due to an unsuccessful bidding pro- ed in salary harmonization for donor-funded and implement new investments in distribu- DABS planning and O&M staff. cess. However, DABS is currently carrying out consultants embedded in or working in sup- tion systems and to operate and maintain the The project provided internship opportuni- a market assessment to identify potential port of government. investments properly. ty for new women engineering graduates to suppliers. Country Update/ artf 44/  results kabul residents enjoy better mobility and access to services after road upgrades • For years, thousands of residents in two Kabul city neighborhoods struggled to travel on poorly maintained streets overflowing with litter. • Neighborhood life has changed since Kabul Municipality upgraded the road infrastructure and drainage under the Kabul Municipality Development Program. • The improvements are a product of the program’s objective to increase access to municipal services in selected residential areas of Kabul city. S eventy-year-old Nematullah Sadat makes his way down a recently paved street in Qala-e- Fathullah neighborhood in Kabul city’s District 10. He is heading home after a short trip to buy fresh bread. It’s an enjoyable stroll today, but Ne- matullah says this was not always the case. In the past, street conditions sometimes kept him from reaching the main road—even though it is just 500 meters away. “When my family first moved here four years ago, the condition of the street was awful,” he says. “Because of flooding, mud, and litter, the road was impassable some of the time and unpleasant to pass all the time. The smell was unbearable. It was very inconvenient to get anywhere, especially for the children to get to school.” Now, Nematullah is able to come and go as he pleases. Kabul Municipality paved the neighborhood street “ in 2017 through the Kabul Municipal Development Program (KMDP). Altogether the municipality has paved 38 streets, totaling over 9 km of roadway, in the Qalae- On these newly paved streets Fathullah and Taimani neighborhoods, benefiting over 5,000 people. Better Access to Municipal Services Zalmay Latifi, 51, chairperson of the Qala-e-Fathullah The upgrade was completed in November 2017 after there is much less dust and no mud or puddles of water. Community Development Council, agrees that this and eight months of work, which included building sidewalks ” other streets in the neighborhood were in such a poor and drainage. The neighborhood improvements are a pro- I feel like I am walking in state that they were not passable for most people. duct of KMDP’s objectives to increase access to basic mu- “Children and women had an especially difficult time nicipal services in selected residential areas of Kabul city, getting around,” he says, “but as you can see now, this support better service delivery by Kabul Municipality, and a whole new city! street is immaculate after Kabul Municipality paved it.” Homemaker Freshta, 40, who lives in Qala-e-Fathullah, enable early response in case of an eligible emergency. Qala-e-Fathullah residents volunteered their own says, “On these new streets, there is much less dust and resources to the neighborhood as part of the initiative, no mud or puddles of water. I feel like I am walking in a building small footbridges over the drainage, installing –Freshta, resident, Qala-e-Fathullah neighborhood, Kabul city whole new city!”. lamps by doorways, and planting trees. They gather twice Student Kazem Latifi, 13, a seventh grader at Azmoon a month to clean and do small repairs on the newly pa- High School, says he’s happy to go to school: “I like going ved road themselves, supplementing municipal services. to school because now it takes just 15 minutes instead They are so pleased with the road that they feel it is a of 25 minutes and the extra 10 minutes I can spend with small price to pay in exchange for the benefit of good my friends.” streets, says Zalmay Latifi. Country Update/artf 46/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/47 Higher Education learning; and (iv) grants to support individual and group research projects at universities. Development Project The additional financing has been in- corporated into the project and the pro- Grant $55 million ject closing date has been extended from HEDP aims to increase access to higher edu- December 31, 2020, to December 21, 2022, cation in Afghanistan, as well as improve its to allow sufficient time for completion of the quality and relevance. HEDP uses an Invest- additional activities and achievement of the ment Project Financing instrument based on final targets. the Results-based Financing modality. Under component one, project funds are being disbursed against selected line items in Kabul Municipal the annual budget of the Ministry of Higher Development Program Education (MoHE) up to capped amounts, and on condition that the agreed set of disburse- (KMDP) ment-linked indicators (DLIs) are achieved. Grant $110 million The DLIs reflect the priorities for develop- Kabul Municipality is responsible for imple- ment. These include intermediate outcomes menting the project. The project objectives that build cumulatively over the lifespan are to (i) increase access to basic munici- of HEDP to improve access to the higher pal services in selected residential areas of education system and raise its quality and Kabul city; (ii) redesign Kabul Municipality’s relevance. This component supports the re- Financial Management System to support forms initiated through the National Higher better service delivery; and (iii) enable early re- Education Strategic Plan II and focuses on sponse in the event of an eligible emergency. outcomes and results rather than inputs. KMDP is expected to deliver welfare The project started in September 2015 and and human development benefits to over MoHE is on track to meet the fourth round 700,000 people through services provided of the DLIs, which include increased female in some 2,400 hectares of private land. The enrollment in the first year of priority disci- project also supported development of a plines, establishment of functional ICT cent- plan to improve the municipality’s financial ers at seven universities for ICT-based higher management and planning capacity to de- education, and establishment of Internal Quality Assurance Units functioning to inter- liver improved services. The implementation national standards at eight universities. of the plan is underway, which will enhance Enrollment in key priority disciplines (those Kabul Municipality’s institutional capacity. The reconstruction of that contribute to economic and social de- To date $69,003 million has been dis- this main road in Kabul velopment) has increased substantially city, which was in poor bursed. Over 1.36 million people (about 73 from 64,200 at the project baseline to about universities. AfghanEx has been developed condition, will ease percent women and children) have benefited traffic flow and access, 81,900 to date. The special focus on increas- based on the EdEx platform for online teach- from the construction of about 486 kilom- especially for residents and ing female enrollment has also paid sub- ing and learning. businesses in the area. The eters of neighborhood roads, 590 kilometers stantial dividends with female enrollment The project received additional financing reconstruction, which will of community drains, and 36 kilometers include proper drainage increasing from 11,400 to about 16,900 by of $5 million, mainly to expand the following trunk roads. and streetlighting, is December 2018. successful project interventions to scale up carried out by the Kabul Temporary employment of some 2.6 mil- MoHE has developed a policy and by- project impact and development effective- Urban Transport Efficiency lion people has been generated through the Improvement Project. law for the practice of e-learning. This will ness: (i) provision of faculty scholarships (150 execution of contracts with labor intensive “Reconstruction of this support gradual introduction of blended postgraduate scholarships to public univer- road will be the greatest work at an investment of $223/person per learning, incorporating e-learning into the sity academics in priority disciplines with one gift for the people living month. Durable infrastructure will generate and working in this area,” university curriculum, as well as recognition third allocated to female academics); (ii) sup- secondary employment in the years ahead. says a grateful resident. of blended learning toward program credits. port to public universities to prepare and im- Importantly, KMDP has established a strong In the pilot phase, a select number of online plement Strategic Institutional Development foundation for gender inclusive community courses have been uploaded on AfghanEx Plans; (iii) training of teaching faculty in out- participation in decision making over public and supplement courses taught at public come-based education and student-centered expenditures in Guzars (neighborhoods). Country Update/ artf 48/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/49 Kabul Urban Hydropower Plant (NHPP). NHPP is of stra- tegic importance to Afghanistan's power Transport Efficiency generation portfolio as it provides more than Improvement Project half of Kabul's electricity. The project came into effect in January (KUTEI) 2016. In November 2018, NHPP started op- Grant $90.5 million erating at full capacity (100 MW) after the rehabilitation of turbine units 1 and 3. The KUTEI aims to improve road conditions and terms of reference for NHPP staff training traffic flow on select corridors of Kabul city. and for supply of spare parts for five years of The project will focus on improving road in- operations and maintenance of the power frastructure and providing technical assis- plant will be finalized in April and the pack- tance to Kabul Municipality in specific areas. age advertised in the second quarter of 2019. Investments in key road infrastructure Work on dam safety enhancement is also will improve connectivity and make Kabul underway. Submersible water pumps have more inclusive, while technical and knowl- been installed inside the dam’s drainage gal- edge support will gradually transform Kabul lery to release upward water pressure. Two Municipality into a modern planning and additional pumps, required to completely implementing agency by adopting best in- drain both galleries, will be purchased and ternational practice. Kabul Municipality installed by the second quarter of 2019. will be responsible for project implementa- A bathymetric survey of the Naghlu dam tion, including procurement and financial reservoir will be performed by DABS person- management. nel with support from the Ministry of Energy Project objectives will be measured against and Water/Food and Agriculture Organization the following indicators: (a) traffic capacity team. The ultrasonic equipment for the sur- improvements, measured by average vehi- vey will be procured by the ministry. cle speed during off-peak hours; (b) people Terms of reference for hiring a consultancy (within a 500-meter range) in urban areas firm to carry out a dam safety and hydro- provided access to all season roads; and (c) mechanical audit have been finalized and percentage of Kabul city’s trunk road network The Naghlu Hydropower the tenders will be advertised in mid-2019. Plant has started operating in at least “fair” condition. The contract for the associated procure- at full capacity after Project implementation is progressing well ment of a consultancy firm for conduct- two turbine units were and all planned civil works contracts have restored under the Naghlu ing the Environmental and Social Impact Hydropower Rehabilitation been awarded. To date, nine civil works con- Assessment (ESIA) of Naghlu dam is ex- Project. A number of pletion of the Sorobi substation, a number of tracts, totaling 30 kilometers of roadway, have been completed and the roads opened to traf- pected to be signed in April 2019. As the ESIA surrounding villages will receive electricity from a villages in Sorobi district will receive electric- RESULTS EXPECTED UNDER THE NHRP audit results for proper management of sedi- new substation under a ity, while villages in Tagab district have been fic. Implementation of newly awarded road • Revived 50 MW of previously nonoperational capacity of Naghlu Hydropower ment will be available only later, the team is benefit-sharing program of surveyed and the distribution system is at contracts will start in the first quarter of 2019. the project. analyzing other possible approaches to man- design stage. Plant by rehabilitating Unit 1 and overhauling Unit 3. age the sediment and start procurement of The project also includes vocational train- • Improved routine operation and maintenance of the power plant for five years. Naghlu Hydropower sediment assessment and removal, including ing for villagers. However, during consulta- • Enhanced staff capacity to operate and maintain the power plant. Rehabilitation Project unexploded ordnance. NHRP also has a benefit-sharing program tion with the villagers, it was agreed that instead of vocational training, the project • Residents living near NHPP connected to electricity and local residents benefit (NHRP) for the local population, which includes elec- will facilitate extension of services of the from vocational training. trification of villages in surrounding districts. National Horticulture and Livestock Project. • Enhanced security and safety measures of the NHPP. Grant $83 million Construction of the Sorobi 20 MW substation Under the first phase that started in January NHRP aims to improve dam safety and sus- • Renovate and revive full capacity of Darunta Hydropower Plant. is near completion and is expected to be in 2019, poultry and training of its upkeep will tainability of hydropower and to increase commission in March 2019, supplying power be provided to 13 villages in Sorobi district. the supply of electricity at the Naghlu to Sorobi and Tagab districts. With the com- Following a formal request from MoF, the Country Update/ artf 50/  / The World Bank Group in Afghanistan/51 Some 240,000 rural women have received National Horticulture and post-harvest practices for horticultural crops. They have also been provided with a training on harvesting and post-harvest practices for and Livestock Project large number of essential tools (e.g., pruning horticultural crops under the National Horticulture (NHLP) shears, ladders, bags) for proper harvesting of their products. and Livestock Project. They Grant $190 million Farmers are encouraged to work together have also been provided a large number of essential Afghan Farmers’ Contribution through the establishment of Producers tools for proper harvesting $28.2 million Marketing Organizations (PMOs) with 50 of their products. PMOs set up so far, having a membership of NHLP aims to promote the adoption of im- 300–400 farmers per group. This structure proved production and post-harvest prac- helps farmers with outsourced inputs and ac- tices and technologies by target farmers in cess to markets. the horticultural sector and to support the Over 1,500 raisin drying houses have been livestock sector, with gradual rollout of constructed on a cost-sharing basis to reduce farmer-centric agricultural services systems post-harvest losses of grapes and improve and investment support. the quality of raisins produced. The project has three components: (i) hor- Regarding livestock activities, NHLP con- ticultural production; (ii) animal production tinues to focus on key activities, including and health; and (iii) implementation man- poultry production and animal health and ex- agement and technical assistance support. tension services, while expanding work pro- These activities were initially implemented in grams to other areas such as fishery and dairy. 120 focus districts in 23 target provinces. Under the National Brucellosis Control The original budget of the project was Program in 360 districts, more than 2.2 mil- $100 million, but based on the high demand lion young female calves and over 11.5 mil- for NHLP services, the project has received lion young female sheep and goats have been an additional financing of $90 million to al- vaccinated. To ensure sustainability, the pro- low expansion of its work programs to more ject is gradually handing over this activity to farmers and add new activities. the General Directorate of Animal Health un- The project now covers 291 districts in all der the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and 34 provinces, and, so far, have reached over Livestock (MAIL). 700,000 farmers/beneficiaries, including To date, the project has supported 172,970 around 240,000 women. livestock farmers (104,242 women and To date, NHLP has financed the establish- 68,722 men), clustering them into producers’ ment of almost 26,500 hectares (ha) of new groups, including poultry producer groups, to pistachio and fruit orchards in 32 provinces. In benefit from animal production and health addition, over 26,000 ha of existing orchards services. It has also extended its activities to have been rehabilitated and some 132,000 new geographical areas under sanitary man- project was restructured to include the re- kitchen gardening schemes established. date activities and is supporting MAIL’s rel- habilitation and renovation of the Darunta The project has supported construction of evant directorate to implement them. Hydropower Plant. Three units will be re- about 1,300 small water harvesting struc- NHLP activities are based on cost sharing, newed and an administrative building and tures, improving farmers’ resilience to weath- accordingly it is expected that farmers will warehouse will be constructed inside the er change by allowing harvest and storage of contribute $28.2 million to the cost of ser- power plant. The bidding document of this water during the rainy season and gradual vices and inputs received. activity has been completed and social and release in the growing period based on crop environmental impact documents have been needs. This has been implemented in partner- prepared and cleared by the World Bank. The ship with Community Development Councils. tender for design, supply, installation, and To strengthen market supply, a large num- commissioning of Darunta power plant is ex- ber of the targeted farmers, both male and pected to be advertised in April 2019. female, have been trained on harvesting Country Update/ artf 52/  results livestock and fish farming bring self-sufficiency to rural Afghans • Thousands of people in rural communities in Nangarhar province are being given the opportunity to become self-sufficient farmers and business owners. • The National Horticulture and Livestock Project enables poor families to make a living through support for poultry and fish farming. • Fish farming has allowed beneficiaries to turn their small pieces of non-arable land into a source of income. A s late afternoon unfolds, Parwin is counting her chickens in the courtyard of her house in Sangar Sarai village, Kama district. The small courtyard is surrounded by multiple rooms with broken windows covered by plastic. The 50-year-old widow had received the chickens only recently and is feeding them enthusiastically. “I am so happy that I now have more than 30 chickens, a room to keep them in, plenty of food and medicine to keep them fed and healthy, and I can sell their eggs to help my fa- mily financially,” she says. Parwin, who lost her husband and two of her sons in a blast two years ago, had been concerned about supporting her family. “But now I am able to make some money and help feed my family,” she says with a smile of hope. Kama district, where Parwin lives with her three survi- ving children, lies some 39 km east of Jalalabad city, the provincial capital of eastern Nangarhar province. Parwin is one of hundreds of people in the district to benefit “ from the National Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP), operating under the Ministry of Agriculture, Irri- In addition to creating the poultry farms, the NHLP gation and Livestock. Animal Production and Fishery sub-component has built So far, the project has distributed poultry to 250 bene- 16 fish husbandry pools in Kama district. Beneficiaries Our aim is to help communities ficiaries and helped set up 16 fish farms in Kama dis- trict, according to Zia-ul-Haq Fazli, the NHLP provincial contributed 10 percent of the expenses, 52,600 afghanis ($750), for building the pools. officer in Jalalabad. Each poultry beneficiary receives 27 Each pool contains three kinds of fish, with as many with their livelihood and encourage many women chickens and 3 roosters, while each fishery beneficiary as 1,000 fish in each, says Zia-ul-Haq. “ Each beneficiary ” receives 1,000 fish. is given two pools, which can help them make a profit of and men to be self-sufficient, and “Almost all of our poultry farm beneficiaries are wi- 567,214 afghanis ($8,000) per year,” he points out. “This dows, the disabled, and poor families,” says Zia-ul-Haq. is a significant amount of money made from a small “Our aim through this project is to help communities piece of land. It can serve as a very good alternative to in the long run fturn this into businesses. with their livelihood and encourage as many women opium production.” and men as we can to be self-sufficient, and in the long Beneficiary Mohammad Haroon, 35, a father of three, run, turn this into businesses.” says, “Before construction of the fish farms, the land –Zia-ul-Haq Fazli, NHLP provincial officer, Jalalabad was totally dry and we were not able to do any farming Fish Farming Brings Good Income here. Now that we have the fish husbandry pools, we are In Nangarhar province, NHLP supports over 25,000 not only happy about the prospects of making money, beneficiaries, about 45 percent of whom work primarily but also we are no longer dependent on imported fish in livestock and the remainder in horticulture. from Pakistan.” Country Update/ artf 54/  The Women’s Economic Empowerment National Priority Program will help boost Afghan women’s access to economic resources that will improve their self-reliance and status in society.  Women’s Economic (vi) access to creative economy markets. The SC, co-chaired by the Ministry of Empowerment The three-year Project Preparation Grant (PPG) has three components: (i) coordina- Women’s Affairs, MoLSAMD, and MoF, has met twice and formally endorsed the National Priority tion and program management; (ii) provide SC’s structure, roles and responsibilities. Program (WEE-NPP) technical assistance and capacity building The program has high visibility within the for line ministries carrying out WEE activities government. Grant $5 million and conduct relevant analytic work; and (iii) The objective of the WEE-NPP is to advance establish and operate an innovation fund to women’s agency, autonomy, and well-being support women’s economic activities. by expanding women’s access to economic Despite the slow progress of implementa- resources. tion of the PPG, several important steps have The WEE-NPP is led by a Project Coor- been taken to define and set up the overall dination Office (PCO) in the Ministry of institutional and coordination arrangements Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled for the WEE-NPP. The PCO’s working lines and (MoLSAMD). The PCO is responsible for over- coordination mechanisms within MoLSAMD seeing WEE-NPP activities across six pillars: leadership, Technical Working Group for op- (i) increasing the availability of gender sta- erational coordination, Steering Committee tistics; (ii) removing legal barriers to par- (SC) for management-level coordination, and ticipation; (iii) training in literacy, business Human Development Council for high-level management, and labor skills; (iv) inclusive coordination have been established and their Note: All dollar figures are in US dollar equivalents. access to finance; (v) access to agricultural roles and responsibilities defined and agreed IDA, the International Development Association, is the inputs, extension services, and markets; and upon by the relevant parties. 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/2019. House 238, Street 15, Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, afghanistan ©World Bank, April 2019.