[{"bbox": [143, 149, 1085, 207], "category": "Text", "text": "in October 2017 confirmed an earlier progress assessment by the EU which had led to a first major disbursement decision in July 2017."}, {"bbox": [143, 208, 1085, 468], "category": "Text", "text": "The continuation of budget support in the form of the State and Resilience Building Contract II (2018-2020) shall thus support the Government with the full policy framework (ANPDF and NPPs) and reform agenda implementation as well as the consolidation of results, in turn setting up the foundations for a stable, prosperous society, addressing peace and security challenges. In terms of sustainability, the SRBC II shall continue providing the Government of Afghanistan with discretionary fiscal space to pursue its own strategic development priorities and policies under the ANPDF, prioritizing the implementation of important macro-economic reforms leading to reduced aid-dependency and improved democratic governance in Afghanistan through modern, transparent and accountable systems."}, {"bbox": [143, 468, 1085, 873], "category": "Text", "text": "Building on lessons learnt from the SBC I package, together with a variable tranche of 50% for each disbursement, alignment with the Afghan financial year and other incentive programmes operating in Afghanistan, as well as reinforced complementary measures, the SRBC II shall support the Government to deliver on its forward looking political commitments and institutional reforms. Specifically, the SRBC II shall continue supporting strong Government action in the areas of (i) public sector reform and the fight against corruption, (ii) basic service delivery and gender equality, and (iii) public financial management and macro-economic stability with a particular focus on domestic revenue mobilisation, as it has been the case for the SBC I. Furthermore, as innovative feature of SBC2, in addition to these focus areas and in line with the MIP 2017 Mid-Term-Review's emerging priorities (such as Women's Economic Empowerment), it shall equally support business and investment climate reform for sustainable inclusive economic growth and the creation of jobs, and contribute to creating the conditions for future sector budget support in the core areas of EU intervention such as health and agriculture."}, {"bbox": [143, 928, 292, 954], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 1. CONTEXT"}, {"bbox": [160, 969, 731, 997], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 1.1 Sector/Country/Regional context/Thematic area"}, {"bbox": [143, 1011, 1085, 1439], "category": "Text", "text": "Afghanistan has made important progress on its way towards becoming a more functioning, accountable and sustainable state over the past fifteen years. However, one and a half years after the Brussels Conference of October 2016, the prospects for the period 2018-2020 remain fragile, with an intensified insurgency increasing its influence over territory and population² and making peace prospects more elusive. Two elections planned for 2018 (Parliamentary/Districts) and 2019 (Presidential/Provinces) bear the risk of increasing political uncertainty. The number of returnees from Iran and Pakistan, as well as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), reached more than 1.2 million in 2016. In 2017, 318 000 persons were newly displaced. For 2018, a new wave of returnee migrants from Pakistan is expected, at least similar in size to the 2016 figures. The worsening security situation coupled with political instability and a fragile economy have eroded public trust and led to increased out-migration flows. Increased vulnerability and disruption of government services have a severe impact on some of the lowest human development indicators globally for poverty, literacy rate and unemployment,"}, {"bbox": [143, 1513, 787, 1538], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² Report of the UN Secretary General to UN General Assembly of 15 December 2017"}, {"bbox": [605, 1605, 631, 1628], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "[3]"}]