The Canadian Press, May 28, 2009

Aid expert says only pennies of foreign money reaching Afghans

Afghan government can't even account for how much money is sent to the country each year or where the billions of dollars are going.

Reuters, November 20, 2007: Oxfam report says "Too much aid is absorbed by profits of companies and sub-contractors, on non-Afghan resources and on high expatriate salaries and living costs.... A full-time expatriate consultant can cost up to $500,000 a year."

GARY — An international aid expert says only pennies from each dollar being sent to Afghanistan are actually reaching the people who need help.

Marco Vicenzino says he is appalled by the inefficiency of humanitarian aid efforts.

Vicenzino, who is a strategic adviser for the Afghanistan World Foundation, says about 80 cents of every dollar goes back to donor countries - largely through the contractors doing the work.

He says the remainder goes though "layers of corruption" in Afghanistan and only about a nickel actually reaches the people.

He says the Afghan government can't even account for how much money is sent to the country each year or where the billions of dollars are going.

Vicenzino says there needs to be a more strategic approach to humanitarian aid for Afghanistan.

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