Transition Initiatives Home » About Transition Initiatives » Country Programs » Focus Areas » Summary of Program Activities » Publications » Staff » Employment » Links » Frequently Asked Questions » Site Map »
	OTI / Afghanistan Home Program Description Country Reports Select a report... June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 Jan/Feb 2002 December 2001 Fact Sheets September 2005 July 2004 March 2004 July 2003 July 2003 Hot Topics April 2005 April 2005 July 2004 June 2004 April 2004 Press Releases Support to Rural Homes and Livelihoods Direct Support to the Government of Afghanistan Support to Media Support to Women Afghanistan Photo Gallery
	Advanced Search... Search USAID Personnel... Search USAID Documents...

USAID/OTI Afghanistan Field Report

August 2004

Program Description

USAID/OTI is increasing citizen awareness of and confidence in the process of recovery, rehabilitation and democratic political development in post-conflict Afghanistan. This is being accomplished by:

• Increasing the Afghan government’s responsiveness to citizens’ needs;
• Increasing citizen awareness of and participation in democratic processes; and,
• Increasing the capacity of the Afghan media

OTI’s rapid support for activities in Afghanistan’s transition period helps establish credibility and space for longer-term development assistance. Working with central and provincial governments, national and international NGOs, informal community groups, and media outlets, OTI identifies and supports critical initiatives that facilitate implementation of the Bonn Agreement, which was designed to move the country further along the continuum from war to peace.

The OTI/Afghanistan program started in October 2001 and is scheduled to end in June 2005. Its funds come from various sources, including Transition Initiative Funds (TI), International Disaster Assistance Funds (IDA), Development Assistance Funds (DA), and State Department Economic Support Funds (ESF). Projects are funded in 31 provinces of the country. OTI’s current implementing partners are the International Organization for Migration-Afghanistan Transition Initiative (IOM-ATI) and Internews. IOM-ATI offices are located in Ka-bul, Bamyan, Gardez, Herat, Kandahar, Kunduz, Maimana, and Mazar. Previous USAID/OTI partners included the Voice of America (VOA), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and Ronco.

Country Situation

BOMBING IN KABUL A SIGN OF INCREASED INSECURITY IN RUN-UP TO ELECTIONS:  In the run up to the presidential elections in October, security around the country continued to deteriorate significantly. On August 28, a vehicle-borne explosive device was detonated about a mile away from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul with devastating consequences. The blast ripped through the offices of DynCorp, a U.S. security contractor, claiming several lives and injuring scores of bystanders. Initial reports have speculated that the vehicle was packed with 75 to 100kg of explosives, with the blast pressure shattering windows several blocks away. Taliban spokesman, Latif Hakimi, later claimed responsibility for the attack and vowed that more attacks would follow.

U.S.-SUPPORTED SCHOOL BOMBED:  A remote-controlled explosive device exploded in a school in southern Afghanistan, killing children and teachers. The U.S.-supported school also served as a U.N.-sponsored voter registration site.

ELECTIONS REGISTRATION FIGURES EXCEED EXPECTATIONS:  According to the Joint Electoral Management Body, over 10 million Afghans – 41.5 percent women – have registered to vote. Registration formally closed for most of the country on August 15, although an extension was given for insecure regions in the south and refugees in Iran and Pakistan.

FACTIONAL FIGHTING TESTS CENTRAL GOVERNMENT:  Four days of factional fighting between forces loyal to the Governor of Herat Province in western Afghanistan and a rival commander resulted in as many as 50 deaths. Afghan National Army forces were deployed to help broker a negotiated settlement.

AFGHAN ATHLETES COMPETE AT SUMMER OLYPMICS IN ATHENS:  Three athletes – two female, one male – participated in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The team is the first to represent Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban and marked the first time Afghan women have competed for their country.

USAID/OTI Highlights

A. Narrative Summary

General:  OTI staff participated in a briefing on USAID investments in women’s empowerment provided by Joyce Rumsfeld and Mary Jo Myers, both of whom are engaged in activities of the Afghan-American Women’s Council. The women were accompanying their husbands, Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Myers, during a day-long visit to Afghanistan. The briefing included a discussion of USAID/OTI’s support for the construction and equipping of Provincial Women’s Centers and the Centers’ role in advancing U.S. Government efforts to support gender mainstreaming.

Small Grants Program:  OTI has obtained land deeds for 10 of 14 Provincial Women’s Centers. Construction of eight of the centers is underway. Efforts are ongoing to obtain the remaining deeds.

Media and Civic Education:  A two-person team spent three weeks in Afghanistan conducting a media assessment of USAID’s investments in radio. The team, fielded by MSI (Management Systems International) as part of a multi-country USAID/PPC study of the impact of media investments in conflict settings, is expected to generate lessons learned and best practices that will potentially influence future Agency investments in media development. Overall the team found OTI investments were strategically programmed and recommended future USAID investments in institutional strengthening and improving media legislation.

Media Code of Conduct Ratified:  The Joint Electoral Management Body, with input from USAID media partners, ratified the Media Code of Conduct for journalists and media organizations for the upcoming presidential election. Of specific concern to U.S. Government partners, the code mandates that broadcasters provide some free airtime to each presidential candidate and allows for limited sales of additional campaign advertising at predefined rates.

Arman FM Expands Transmission beyond Afghan Capital:  Arman FM launched the Mazar-i-Sharif transmission of its very popular Kabul radio programming. Given the potential for security issues, the launch was low profile. The geographical reach and population coverage of the Mazar broadcasts are being assessed.

Journalism Training Program Launched:  USAID/OTI partner, Sayara, officially launched its Novice Journalism Training Program at Balkh University in Mazar-i-Sharif. The program, which is modeled after Sayara’s very successful one in Herat, will train budding print and radio journalists at the university and provide them facilities to produce radio programming on campus. Under an arrangement with the Mazar Internews station, Rabia Balkhi, student programs will air at the station and student interns will gain valuable broadcast experience. As part of an intensive summer-school program, students are already producing the program Saday-e Jawan, “Youth Voice,” which focuses on issues of concern to both young people and the wider population of Mazar. Around 300 people, including the deputy governor, officials of the Ministry of Education and Balkh University, and the Consul of Uzbekistan attended the launch ceremony.

Women’s Ministry Launches Website:  The official website of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, developed with USAID/OTI support, is fully operational. The site can be found at www.mowa.gov.af

Radio Programming Reaches Nationwide:   Salaam Wantandar, Internews’ Kabul-based national programming stream that includes the twice daily news program, Ba Khaber, is now being broadcast by 14 of Internews’ 15 FM stations, three new stations, and another Internews-affiliated independent station. Additionally, Radio Television Afghanistan AM stations in Kunar, Kandahar, and Ghonzi are now playing Salaam Watandar live via satellite and the Jalalabad station has requested it.

Support to Strengthen Office of the President’s Spokesperson Concludes:   The Rendon Group has completed the final phase of technical assistance and training support to the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, and submitted a final report.

B. Grant Activity Summary

OTI/Afghanistan summary of cleared and completed activities in August and since program start-up.

Support is being provided to: promote awareness of and participation in the presidential election; increase interaction between the government and communities through reconstruction of infrastructure in areas that have recently experienced increased insecurity and poppy eradication; and, promote increased access and participation in economic opportunities for women. The table below provides a summary of the new grants:

C. Indicators of Success

U.S. Ambassador Interviewed by OTI-Supported Radio Bamyan:

U.S Ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, recently visited Radio Bamyan, an FM station established by Internews with USAID/OTI support that currently reaches about 50,000 people. During his visit to the station, the Ambassador responded to questions about his vision for the future of Afghanistan. His remarks focused on security, the upcoming elections, and people’s productive potential. Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, who is from the Bamyan area, was also interviewed. The visit was so successful that the Ambassador plans to visit other USAID-supported radio stations around the country. The Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamyan has agreed to assist Radio Bamyan with its expansion, including a new building and access to an AM transmitter.

Radio Killid Celebrates One Year of Broadcasting:

Radio Killid celebrated its one-year anniversary this month. The station is a private, independent station established in Kabul with USAID support. It broadcasts news, talk programs, and cultural programming, as well as entertainment 24-hours a day and reaches nearly four million people. Its coverage nearly doubled this week with the installation of a repeater on Kabul’s TV Mountain. It is editorially non-partisan and provides a popular venue for political discussion. Because the radio environment in Kabul has become increasingly competitive, the station is in the midst of a difficult transition from reliance on international donor assistance to becoming a self-sustaining commercial media operation. The station employs 25 full time staff, nine of whom are women. Among those celebrating the anniversary were the: Deputy Minister of Information and Culture; USAID Mission Director, Patrick Fine; OTI Country Representative and Media and Civic Education Sector Specialist; and Internews' Country Director, John West.

NPR Radio Trains Afghan Journalists to Produce Audio Diaries:

Producing stories on diverse topics, such as the daily life of a heroin user, body building, a love affair thwarted by family pressures, and an adult woman who has gone back to school, 11 Afghan journalists finished a course in Kabul with senior National Public Radio (NPR) correspondent Jacki Lyden and producer Michael Kavanagh. The NPR journalists spent a month in Kabul teaching Afghan radio journalists how to produce “audio diaries” – first person narratives that highlight the lives and experiences of ordinary Afghans. Funded by OTI, the course was modeled on NPR’s “This American Life” and is called “My Life” in Afghanistan.

“I have learned how to make the radio a friend of the listener,” said journalist Najibullah Zadeh, who interviewed his own family to chronicle the history of his love for a woman he was not allowed to marry. “Radio in Afghanistan has always been official; now we know how to give it to the people,” Lyden said. “By putting microphones in their hands, by teaching them how to create radio,” she added, “I feel I am empowering them to tell their own stories again and again, long after I am gone.” The students in the course will head back to their local stations around Afghanistan and convey the knowledge and skills they acquired to other journalists. Samples of their work can be heard online at www.internews.org/regions/afghanistan/mylife.htm.

D. Program Appraisal

Overcoming Barriers to Women’s Participation:

OTI partner, IOM-ATI, has held meetings with contractors and Ministry of Women’s Affairs representatives concerning the inclusion of women in construction projects. There have been many difficulties, including cultural barriers, in trying to implement this policy. A woman construction worker explained the challenges she faces and why she is doing it, “It is difficult for me to work with men that I do not have any close family relationship with, but I am so poor I must work because I just want to be alive. I am a widow and have two children, one daughter and one son. If I do not work, who will support my children and me?” In northern Afghanistan women have participated successfully in gabion cage construction, production of cut stones for road work, and mixing sand for concrete production. In these and other such projects around the country, during the tendering process contractors detail the number of women who will be employed and a gender unit comprised of the Department of Women’s Affairs, IOM-ATI staff, and other government representatives monitor them to ensure that the agreed upon numbers are respected.

Leveraging Resources to Expand USAID Radio Investments:

A new cadre of USAID representatives at Provincial Reconstruction Teams around the country have recently submitted project suggestions, many of which directly support OTI partner programs. Submissions have come from Herat, Kunduz, Assadabad, Bamyan, and Khost. Project suggestions include: purchase of furniture and a computer for a radio station; equipping radio stations with solar generation capacity; donating vehicles to improve journalists’ (especially women) mobility; establishing Internet access as a research tool and revenue generator; repairing non-functional or marginally functional transmitters; and, providing independent FM radio stations with AM transmitters. Current practice within USAID is that all media-related projects, no matter the funding source, be reviewed by OTI to maximize existing investments in media and avoid duplication of efforts.

Security:

The security situation deteriorated significantly over the past month. On July 31, Kabul police foiled a sophisticated and potentially deadly bomb plot in Kabul, and throughout August there were a number of small incidents involving explosive devices and rocket attacks. Security continues to be a problem with daily attacks occurring against representatives of the Afghan government, civilians, coalition forces, and the international community. IOM/ATI is using the national NGO, Afghans for Afghans, to work in our behalf in provinces with high security risks, such as Logar, Nuristan, Wardak, and Ghazni. ATI is closely monitoring the situation and adjusting its workplans accordingly. In an increasing number of areas, staff are required to have helmets, body armor, and trauma kits. If the security situation continues to deteriorate, some projects will be at risk.

NEXT STEPS/IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES

During the month of September 2004, USAID/OTI will:

• Begin to implement the IOM-ATI workplan and close-out plans for the final 10 months of the program.
• Complete the program transition plan that will detail how OTI programming will be handed over to the USAID Mission; the media portfolio is expected to be transferred early in the next fiscal year.
• Provide program support for the presidential elections.
• Provide funding support to rehabilitate the neighborhood in Kabul damaged in the recent attack on the offices of DynCorp.

For further information, please contact:
In Washington: Elizabeth Callender, USAID/OTI/ANE Program Manager, Tel: 202-712-407, ecallender@usaid.gov