The Times
Jerome Starkey in Kabul

Nato’s billion-dollar aid budget is putting lives at risk and undermining the long-term prospects for stability in Afghanistan, according to a damning report.

The warning by eight international charities comes on the eve of an international conference in London, where donors are expected to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars for development and reconciliation to complement Nato’s counter-insurgency strategy.

Some of the world’s leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs), including Oxfam, Care and ActionAid, say too much money is being channelled through the military, risking the safety of humanitarian staff by blurring the lines between aid workers and the army.

“Development projects implemented with military money or through military-dominated structures aim to achieve fast results but are often poorly executed, inappropriate and do not have sufficient community involvement to make them sustainable,” it said. (Read more…)