Resolved: Nato Presence improves the lives of Afghan Citizens

My partner and I affirm the resolution. But before we continue on with this debate, we would like to define the following terms. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an alliance between the US and many other European countries. But in this debate, NATO would primarily refer to the US and vice versa due to the majority of Afghan efforts being led by the US. We would also like to define the word improve which is to advance or make progress in what is desirable. In accessing this debate, we must look at how the lives of Afghan citizens have improved before NATO presence and compare it with the lives of Afghan citizens now.

Contention 1: Economic Improvements

The NATO presence in Afghanistan has had a dramatic impact on the Afghan economy. According to the CIA Fact book, the unemployment rate has fallen from 40% in 2005 to 35% in 2009. In addition, the per capita GDP in Afghanistan has increased from $800 in 2005 to $1000 in 2009. This is all due to the efforts led by NATO forces to support the Afghan people. NATO forces have paved the way for foreign corporations to expand in Afghanistan. This has created over 100,000 jobs in sectors such as telecommunications. With improvements to the Afghan economy due to programs and increased stability in the country, jobs are being created and the quality of lives in Afghanistan is improving.

Contention 2: Safety

The issue that has plagued Afghanistan is the issue of safety. Is the country of Afghanistan safer today? With the NATO presence in Afghanistan, the central government in Kabul was able to strengthen. NATO trains recruits in the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police extensively in countering terrorist. According to an interview with the Army Times, Brigadier General Gary Patton has stated that the main emphasis is quality over quantity and says that they are on track to sustain itself at a reasonable rate of growth. According to the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan Coalition, it says that NATO trainers are teaching specialized skills to the Afghan Army. One skill that is emphasized heavily is to train Afghan soldiers to be EOD Technicians Explosive (Ordnance Disposal) to help combat IEDS

Contention 3: Health

With the NATO presence in Afghanistan, the Afghan health care system has been redone and now there are significant improvements in the health of millions of Afghan people. According to a John Hopkins University medical report on Afghanistan it says “The delivery of public health services is improving steadily in Afghanistan as the Ministry of Public Health makes progress towards its goals”. With NATO advisors, the Afghan government now places the health of the poor and rural as they are most likely to be ill. In 2006, the report shows that 129/1000 children die in their first year of life compared to 165/1000 children die in their first year of life in a UNICEF report. With this statistic, it is safe to say that the NATO presence in Afghanistan has improved the health of the people as shown in the rate of death for children under the age of one. As well as the lower children death rate, women in rural Afghanistan who received antenatal care during pregnancy from a skilled provider increased from 4.6% in 2003 to 32.2 in 2006! There are also many improvements in the health care system such as increased immunization as well as better improvement in the management of diseases. With substantial changes to the Afghan health care system thanks to the NATO presence, the lives of Afghan citizens are better now due to the fact that they can live healthier long lives.