Afghanistan National Development Strategy

• 43 pages
• 2008

In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, the most Compassionate

Six and half Six and one-half years ago, the people of Afghanistan and the international community joined hands to liberate Afghanistan from the grip of international terrorism and to begin the journey of rebuilding a nation from a past of violence, destruction and terror. We have come a long way in this shared journey.

In a few short years, as a result of the partnership between Afghanistan and the international community, we were able to create a new, democratic Constitution, embracing the freedom of speech and equal rights for women. Afghans voted in their first-ever presidential elections and elected a new parliament. Today close to five million Afghan refugees have returned home, one of the largest movements of people to their homeland in history.

Thousands of schools have been built, welcoming over six million boys and girls, the highest level ever
for Afghanistan. Hundreds of health clinics have been established boosting our basic health coverage
from a depressing 9 percent six years ago to over 85 percent today. Access to diagnostic and curative
services has increased from almost none in 2002 to more than forty percent. We have rehabilitated 12,200
km of roads, over the past six years. Our rapid economic growth, with double digit growth almost every
year, has led to higher income and better living conditions for our people. With a developing road
network and a state-of-the-art communications infrastructure, Afghanistan is better placed to serve as an
economic land-bridge in our region.

These achievements would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the
international community and the strong determination of the Afghan people. I hasten to point out
that our achievements must not distract us from the enormity of the tasks that are still ahead. The
threat of terrorism and the menace of narcotics are still affecting Afghanistan and the broader region
and hampering our development. Our progress is still undermined by the betrayal of public trust by
some functionaries of the state and uncoordinated and inefficient aid delivery mechanisms.
Strengthening national and sub-national governance and rebuilding our judiciary are also among our
most difficult tasks.

To meet these challenges, I am pleased to present Afghanistan’s National Development Strategy
(ANDS). This strategy has been completed after two years of hard work and extensive consultations
around the country. As an Afghan-owned blueprint for the development of Afghanistan in all spheres
of human endeavor, the ANDS will serve as our nation’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. I am
confident that the ANDS will help us in achieving the Afghanistan Compact benchmarks and
Millennium Development Goals. I also consider this document as our roadmap for the long-desired
objective of Afghanization, as we transition towards less reliance on aid and an increase in selfsustaining
economic growth.

I thank the international community for their invaluable support. With this Afghan-owned strategy, I
ask all of our partners to fully support our national development efforts. I am strongly encouraged to
see the participation of the Afghan people and appreciate the efforts of all those in the international
community and Afghan society who have contributed to the development of this strategy. Finally, I
thank the members of the Oversight Committee and the ANDS Secretariat for the preparation of this
document.

Hamid Karzai
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

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