Afghanistan : State Building, Sustaining Growth, and Reducing Poverty

Afghanistan has come a long way since
emerging from major conflict in late 2001. Important
political milestones mandated by the Bonn Agreement (two
Loya Jirgas, a new Constitution, recently the Presidential
election) have been achieved. The economy has recovered
strongly, growing by nearly 50 percent cumulatively in the
last two years (not including drugs). Some three million
internally- and externally-displaced Afghans have returned
to their country/home.More than four million children, a
third of them girls, are in school, and immunization
campaigns have achieved considerable success. The Government
has supported good economic performance by following prudent
macroeconomic policies; it has begun to build capacity and
has developed the nationally-led budget process and made the
budget into its central instrument of reform; and it has
made extraordinary efforts to develop key national programs
(for example public-works employment programs and community
development programs) and to revive social services like
education and health.