Mission Statement

Aid Management Directorate aims to ensure that external assistance to Afghanistan is effectively utilized, in line with our government’s needs and priorities, through close cooperation with our international development partners.

In 2002, during the Interim Administration of Afghanistan, the AfghanistanAssistanceCoordination Authority (AACA) was established as an independent entitywith support from UNDP. The objective was to track aid flows to Afghanistan and make sure aid is targeted to respond to the priorities and needs of the government and peopleof Afghanistan.

Later in 2003, the AACA was dissolved and another unit named Development Budget and External Relations Department (DBER) was established at the Ministry of Finance,which managed aid related issues. In 2006, the Aid Coordination Unit (ACU) was established under theBudget Department withthe mandate to track international assistance and provide policy advice about aid coordination and aid effectiveness.

Given the importance this unit plays inaid effectiveness and coordination, it was developedinto a directorate named Aid Management Directorate (AMD) in 2010. AMD is currently one of three directorates under the Directorate-General Budget. The objective of Aid Management Directorate is to manage the influx of the development assistance by ensuring that the assistance is directed to respond to the priorities set and identified in the ANDS.

Structure

Currently, the Directorate consists of three units,namely Aid Coordination Unit, Aid Effectiveness and Policy Unitand Aid Reporting and Information Management Unit. The structure of AMD is explained in the following flowchart:

Responsibilities

• To ensure that all aid flows(both core and external)are aligned with the ANDS
• To work towards increasing core budgetsupport from donors
• Tocoordinate with the Directorate-General Budget, in order to contribute to formulation of National Development Budget (Core and External) through alignment of externalfunding
• To facilitate integration of aid into the national priorities through involvement in various meetings such as High Level Meeting on Aid Effectiveness(HLCAE)
• To advisesenior MoF management onaid related issues
• To represent MoF at domestic and international meetings with the international community

Aid Coordination Unit(ACU)

Aid Coordination Unitserves as platform of discussion/negotiation between GoIRAand development partners on the allocation of external assistance to projects and programs. Specific responsibilities are:

• To work asthefocal point of GoIRA for development partnersregarding aid
• To organize and conduct the Development Cooperation Dialogues (DCD) - a dialogue on aid policies and strategies between GoIRA and development partners
• To provide support to the implementation of ANDS through effective coordination of aid
• To manage grant, loans and aid portfolio through negotiation of financing agreements
• To keep updated donor profiles and carry out Donor Portfolio Reviews
• To mobilize funds when necessary

Aid Effectiveness and Policy Unit(AEPU)

This unit developspolicies and strategies to ensure aid effectiveness in Afghanistan. Specifically:

• To align donors programs and projects with the results stipulated in the ANDS
• To monitor and evaluate the practical application of aid effectiveness principles (Afghanistan Compact, Paris Declaration, Accra Agenda for Action)
• To develop and utilize the Aid Effectiveness Monitoring Framework
• To develop and implement the Operational Guide: Criteria for Effective Off-Budget Development Financing

AidReporting andInformation Management Unit(ARIMU)

This unitfunctionsas a repository of information on development assistance to Afghanistanfor GoIRA, donors, non-government agencies and other stakeholders.Specific responsibilities are:

• Todevelop and improve the Development Assistance Database (DAD)
• To collect, summarize and analyze information on ODA
• To create the annual Development Cooperation Report (DCR) – the prime source of information on aid in Afghanistan
• To provide aid-related data to Directorate-General Budget, MOF, GoIRA, development partners and civil society.

Major Achievements

Since 2002, AMD (and its various predecessors) have made several notable achievements, for example:

• Successfully carried out the Paris Declaration Monitoring Surveysin2006, 2008and 2010
• Successfully carried out the Afghanistan Development Forum 2007
• Developed the first ever Afghanistan Aid Management Policy
• Held Donor Financial Reviews, and published the subsequent DFR Reports, in 2008 (twice) and 2009
• Improved the Donor Financial Review process into the Development Cooperation Dialogues (DCD), and held the DCDs and published the Development Cooperation Report 2010.
• Helped create the Development Assistance Database (DAD) in 2003
• Improved the Development Assistance Database (DAD) in 2011
• Introduced the Harmonised Reporting Format for development partners
• Assisted in the creation of the Operational Guide: Criteria for Off Budget Development Financing (presented at Kabul Conference 2010) and produced the Implementation Mechanism
• Carriesout numerous multi-donor meetings such as High Level Committee on Aid Effectiveness, Standing Committees and Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB)