HONOLULU -- Two decades of war have exacted a horrific toll on Afghanistan. As the dust settles after the latest conflagration, the meaning of "nation building" is becoming clear -- and it's a mind-boggling assignment.
The delegates that met in Tokyo last week for the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan exceeded expectations with their aid pledges, but those promises mean nothing without the will to follow through -- and that effort must come from both the donor community and the Afghans themselves. The challenge is getting Afghan leaders to put national interests above their own concerns. Donors must help them see there is no alternative.
Afghanistan's problems are overwhelming. The average life expectancy is 44 years, one in four children under the age of 5 dies and one in 12 mothers dies in childbirth. The literacy rate is a mere 31 percent. Three years of drought have contributed to a 50 percent decline in grain production. According to the World Food Program, 70 percent of the population is malnourished.
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