Provincial Reconstruction Team Feyzabad deputy civil affairs team chief Ivan Velimir Starčević delivered presentation at MFAEI on “Civil Aspects of Croatia’s Engagement in Afghanistan”

The presentation laid out Croatia’s contribution to the civil reconstruction of Afghanistan through concrete projects that are part of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy

The presentation laid out Croatia’s contribution to the civil reconstruction of Afghanistan through concrete projects that are part of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration has been taking part in these projects since 2005, i.e. since joining the German PRT in Badakshan, the most northern and least accessible of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

As the most important project he singled out the construction of the Layoba health center, which covers the area populated by some 10,000 people. The center was completed in 2009, and sees two doctors and two medical technicians who, in accordance with the standards of the Afghan Ministry of Health, treat 60-100 patients daily.

He also mentioned the recently-opened drinking water pump in a village near Mazar-e-Sharif. The pump significantly improves the drinking water distribution for the 500 families numbering 4,000 people, who previously have had no access to it. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Defence.

The presentation also listed the planned projects, such as building a protective wall around the Feyzabad elementary school and launching swing courses to be attended by single mothers and female inmates from the local prison. Both projects have received support from the relevant governmental bodies of Badakshan.

In regard to civil projects, Starčević pointed out the importance of mutual trust between the assistance providers and the local community, which bears a direct influence on the project’s profitability.

The gathered parties were also presented with the theoretical project framework and a short overview of the current security situation in Afghanistan, nine years after the onset of ISAF.

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