Reforming Aid Practices: Reinforcing the State Building Process in Afghanistan

Afghanistan requires aid for the foreseeable future. The total estimated public expenditure, including security, for the next five years (2017-2021) is US $60 billion. But on average there is 74% financing gap annually. The Afghan government expects to fill this gap through foreign aid. Afghanistan thus urgently needs to use aid more effectively to put the country on a path to self-reliance by strengthening the state capacity and economy. This requires the reforms of aid practices, improvement in the quality of governance, and investment in programs with long time horizons.