According to a recent evaluation by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, UK assistance to Afghanistan has given the Afghan people invaluable support over the past 20 years, increasing literacy and life expectancy.
Though the advantages of that advancement may have been lost during the Taliban regime, numerous women and girls have benefited from UK-funded programs that have made it possible for victims and survivors of gender-based violence to receive education and support.
However, according to ICAI, the UK’s assistance payments did not succeed in creating a functional Afghan state, which was their main objective.
According to the ICAI analysis, the UK Government made certain “poor choices” regarding the use of UK aid as a result of its decision to prioritize its relationship with the US, which contributed to the “final failure of the international coalition’s state-building approach.”
Despite Afghanistan’s high vulnerability to conflict, natural disasters, and extreme weather, the review found that “relatively little” was spent on crisis prevention or building resilience. This is true even though the review commends the UK’s humanitarian response to the conflict’s intensifying and a string of droughts starting in 2020.
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is reporting to the ICAI subcommittee of the International Development Committee, which is led by Richard Bacon MP.
Through thorough, impartial examination, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact seeks to raise the standard of UK development aid. The ICAI mandate includes all UK official development assistance and involves conducting independent reviews of the efficacy and value for money of UK aid. Independent of the government, ICAI submits reports to Parliament via the International Development Committee.
Former Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell MP founded ICAI in October 2010.
In March, the International Development Committee released a report on Afghanistan.
