Some of the most important gains made by the Afghan government and its partners appear to be slipping away, according to the most recent quarterly report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
SIGAR's October 2016 report, its 33rd report issued to the US Congress, noted that there had been increases in poverty, unemployment and underemployment, violence, outmigration, internal displacement, and the education-gender gap, and that services and private investment had fallen.
Significantly, SIGAR noted that the Afghan government's territorial control had decreased as well.
US forces in the Afghanistan "reported that approximately 63.4% of the country's districts are under Afghan government control or influence as of August 28, 2016, a decrease from the 65.6% reported as of May 28, 2016," the inspector general said in a statement.
"Of Afghanistan's 407 districts, 258 districts were under government control (88 districts) or influence (170), 33 districts were under insurgent control (8) or influence (25), and 116 districts were 'contested,'" the statement added. READ MORE
