Islamic Republic of Afghanistan - Enhanced Integrated Framework ...

sion of service coverage and monitoring by theprovincial and central levels; (x) lack of effectivefinancial protection mechanisms for poorhouseholds to receive the care they need withoutexperiencing financial distress; and (xi) lackof mechanisms for effective support to andregulation of for-profit private sector clinicsand pharmacies.Programs have been designed to expand andimprove the system and to try and target vulnerablegroups with preventive or curative programs.The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH)will review and develop relevant legal andregulatory mechanisms, such as accreditationsystems, that govern health and health relatedwork in the public and private sectors. Thegoal of the regulatory system will be to facilitatecompetitive and cost effective provision ofservices, carrying out its broader mandate tonot only contract out service provision to civiland private groups but also to facilitate growthof the ‘for profit’ sector. The MoPH will review,develop and enforce relevant legal andregulatory instruments that govern health andhealth related work to safeguard the public andensure service quality. The MoPH will work toidentify, encourage, coordinate, and reviewand in some cases conduct relevant, useful researchthat can assist evidence-based decisionmaking and the formulation of new policies,strategies and plans.Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentThe ANDS strategic objective for the agricultureand rural development sector is to jointlyuse private investment and public sector supportfor efforts to transform agriculture into asource of growth and means of livelihood forthe rural poor. The sector strategy articulates aroad map for the way forward in which povertyreduction through economic regenerationis the central objective Some of the focus willbe on the transformation of agriculture in anumber of well defined zones where the conditionsfor growth are most favorable.Agriculture has traditionally been the mainactivity for much of Afghanistan’s population,particularly in the most remote and vulnerableareas. While non-farming activities account forlarge amounts of time, many of these are relatedto processing, transporting or marketingagricultural goods. The agriculture and ruraldevelopment strategy establishes ambitiousplans for a series of programs that are designedto achieve an improved quality of life for ruralcitizens – one in which food security is assured,basic services are provided, incomes increasewith households actively engaged in legal activities,employment opportunities expand andwhere people live in a safe and secure environment.Activities are grouped into two maincomponents of the strategy: a ComprehensiveAgriculture and Rural Development (CARD)and the Agricultural and Rural DevelopmentZone (ARDZ) initiative.The CARD strategy articulates a road map forthe way forward in which poverty reductionthrough economic regeneration is the centralobjective. The overall focus is to support thepoorest and most vulnerable segments of ruralsociety. Proposed interventions will provide arange of measures that will differ betweengroups and between regions, but all are designedto help diversify incomes, includingincome support, direct provision of assets,skills training and market opportunities.The second main component of the strategy,the Agriculture and Rural Development Zones(ARDZ) program, is the Government’s approachto expanding commercial activities andincreasing agricultural productivity. TheARDZ recognizes that geographic prioritieshave to be set in support of the development ofcommercial agriculture. These geographic prioritieswill be used to target infrastructure,utilities and other support by various ministries.The Government will release publiclyheld land to increase private sector investmentthrough a competitive bidding process. Further,the Government will continue to investigateand implement measures to increase financialand technical support that can be utilizedby private firms to expand operations.This will ensure the process of transformingunderutilized state land into commercially viableagro-processing enterprises will be as fastand efficient as possible.Social ProtectionThe ANDS strategic objective for social protectionis to assure that the benefits of growthreach the poor and vulnerable, either throughthe attention to these groups in the design ofprograms and projects aimed at stimulatinggrowth or through well targeted support programs.The social protection sector has signifi-12Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS)