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USAID May Not Even Know Locations Of Clinics It Funds In Afghanistan, Watchdog Says

USAID May Not Even Know Locations Of Clinics It Funds In Afghanistan, Watchdog Says
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Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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A little girl watches as a coalition force member gives her sister cough suppressant in Herat province, Afghanistan, Feb. 14, 2013. Coalition forces have been holding bi-weekly women's clinic for the villages surrounding their village stability platform to allow women and their children to receive treatment and standard hygiene products. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau/Released)Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force â AfghanistanPhoto by Sgt. Pete ThibodeauDate Taken:02.14.2013Location:HERAT PROVINCE, AFRead more: www.dvidshub.net/image/866523/coalition-force-members-hol...

WASHINGTON -- A government oversight agency reported on Wednesday that the U.S. Agency for International Development provided inaccurate or incomplete data on the locations of 80 percent of the health clinics it is funding in Afghanistan.

In a letter to USAID, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko noted discrepancies in the geospatial coordinates provided by the development agency last year for 420 of 641 health care facilities in the country. An additional 90 of those clinics had no accompanying geographic coordinates.

The data, provided to Sopko's organization in May 2014, is based on geospatial coordinates compiled by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. While the data set was limited to health clinics in Afghanistan, coordinates for six of the clinics were located in Pakistan, six were in Tajikistan and one was in the Mediterranean Sea. The coordinates for 30 of the clinics pulled up locations in a different province in Afghanistan than the one USAID reported, and nearly 200 more coordinates yielded locations that were not in close proximity to a building.

Source: SIGAR

"To provide meaningful oversight of these facilities, both USAID and [the Afghan Ministry of Public Health] need to know where they are," Sopko said in Wednesday's letter. He has given the development agency until the end of the month to send updated location information to confirm the existence of the 641 clinics, which have received more than $210 million in U.S. government funding.

USAID acknowledged the faulty data from 2014, but downplayed the importance of geographic coordinates for conducting oversight of the effectiveness of the clinics in Afghanistan.

"GPS coordinates are not the first line in monitoring a health facility. Local staff, third-party monitors, Afghan government officials, and the benefiting community do not use GPS to navigate, let alone to find a health facility, because they are familiar with the area or from the community benefiting from the project," said Larry Sampler, assistant administrator for Afghanistan and Pakistan affairs at USAID. "It has been a common practice for Afghan ministries to use the location of a village center as the coordinates for a facility, particularly when there was limited access to GPS technology."

The development agency said on Wednesday that it has an updated data set from the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, which corrected for reversals of longitude and latitude from last year's data. Although USAID cannot yet confirm the exact accuracy of each geographic coordinate, all coordinates in the new data set are located in Afghanistan.

The USAID program that funds the health clinics in Afghanistan was started in 2008 and spans 13 provinces throughout the country. According to Sampler, the program helps provide over 1 million Afghans with health care every month.

The watchdog agency's findings come as U.S. troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan -- a process President Barack Obama has said will be completed by the end of next year. The group has repeatedly warned that minimized oversight of government funded projects in Afghanistan is an inevitable consequence of the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops, which currently provide security for inspectors on the ground.

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Before You Go

Troops withdraw from Afghanistan
(01 of18)
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UK Armed Forces have ended combat operations in Helmand Province, paving the way for the final transfer of security to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). As they have on the battlefield, British troops stood shoulder-to-shoulder with colleagues from the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to witness the Union Flag and Stars and Stripes at the Bastion-Leatherneck complex lowered for the last time. The ceremony marks the end of operations for Regional Command (Southwest), a UK and US coalition command under the umbrella of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Other contributing nations have included Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Tonga, Jordan and Bosnia. (credit:Rex)
Troops in Afghanistan(02 of18)
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The last Union flag of Great Britain flying above the skies of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is lowered by Captain Matthew Clark, left, and Warrant Officer 1 John Lilley, who will hand the flag to Brigadier Rob Thomson who will return the Union flag back to the UK, after a ceremony at Camp Bastion signifying the end of combat operations in Helmand by British and ISAF forces. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
Troops in Afghanistan(03 of18)
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The last Union flag of Great Britain to fly above the skies of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is folded by Captain Matthew Clark, right, and Warrant Officer 1 John Lilley, who will hand the flag to Brigadier Rob Thomson who will return the Union flag back to the UK, after a ceremony at Camp Bastion signifying the end of combat operations in Helmand by British and ISAF forces. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
Troops in Afghanistan(04 of18)
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The last Union flag of Great Britain flying above the skies of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is lowered by Captain Matthew Clark, left, and Warrant Officer 1 John Lilley, who will hand the flag to Brigadier Rob Thomson who will return the Union flag back to the UK, after a ceremony at Camp Bastion signifying the end of combat operations in Helmand by British and ISAF forces. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
Troops in Afghanistan(05 of18)
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The last Union flag of Great Britain flying above the skies of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, is lowered by Captain Matthew Clark, left, and Warrant Officer 1 John Lilley, who will hand the flag to Brigadier Rob Thomson who will return the Union flag back to the UK, after a ceremony at Camp Bastion signifying the end of combat operations in Helmand by British and ISAF forces. (credit:Ben Birchall/PA Wire)
Britain Afghanistan(06 of18)
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UK Armed Forces have ended combat operations in Helmand Province, paving the way for the final transfer of security to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) defense officials said Sunday Oct. 26, 2014. British troops stood shoulder-to-shoulder with colleagues from the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) to witness the Union Flag and Stars and Stripes at the Bastion-Leatherneck complex lowered for the last time Sunday. The ceremony marks the end of operations for Regional Command (Southwest), a UK and US coalition command under the umbrella of NATOâs International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). (AP Photo/British Defence Imagery, Sergeant Obi Igbo, RLC ) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(07 of18)
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US Marine soldiers enter an airplane as British and US troops withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(08 of18)
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US Marine soldiers enter an airplane as British and US troops withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(09 of18)
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US Marines arrange their equipment as US troops arrive in Kandahar after their withdrawl from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(10 of18)
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US Marines arrive in Kandahar after their withdrawl from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(11 of18)
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A US Marine carries his equipment as US troops arrive in Kandahar after their withdrawl from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(12 of18)
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US Marines arrange their equipment as US troops arrive in Kandahar after their withdrawl from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(13 of18)
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A US Marine carries his equipment as US troops arrive in Kandahar after their withdrawl from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(14 of18)
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A guitar is pictured as British and US troops prepare to withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(15 of18)
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US Marines carry their equipment as British and US troops withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(16 of18)
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A US Marine takes a rest as British and US troops prepare to withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(17 of18)
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US Marines stand in line as British and US troops prepare to withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces on October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
AFGHANISTAN-US-BRITAIN-MILITARY-UNREST(18 of18)
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A US Marine reads a book while he waits near transport as British and US troops withdraw from the Camp Bastion-Leatherneck complex at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on October 26, 2014. British forces October 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives. The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck -- the last US Marine base in the country. AFP PHOTO/Wakil kohsar (Photo credit should read WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:WAKIL KOHSAR via Getty Images)
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