KABUL (AFP) — The United Nations said Wednesday it will double the budget of its Afghan mission next year, taking on hundreds of new staff and opening more offices to meet more "complex" challenges.
For 2009 its budget will be 150-160 million dollars, up from 81 million dollars in 2008.
"(The 2009 budget) will be, in fact, double our current budget, and allow us to raise the number of our personnel from 1,500 to 2,000," said Kai Eide, the UN secretary general's special representative for Afghanistan.
"The challenges have also become more complex," he added at a press conference in Kabul.
The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan has prevented UN and other aid workers from accessing large swathes of the country, leaving many vulnerable communities without help.
Eide stressed the importance of foreign workers in Afghanistan reflecting the concerns of ordinary people, and called for greater cooperation between the country's military and international forces here.
"I believe that Afghans should always be in front. The Afghans are better aware of their cultural sensitivities... and cultural sensitivity is critically important," he said.
"There is a need for greater integration, better cooperation and better operational cohesion (of military forces)."
Frequent civilian casualties in air strikes targeting suspected militants, house searches by foreign forces and the detention of suspects have contributed to widespread public resentment of international troops in Afghanistan.
The United States, which provides the bulk of the 70,000 foreign troops under US and NATO command in Afghanistan, plans to almost double the number of soldiers it deploys here.
Britain has said it will increase its military budget for Afghanistan next year and has sent an extra 300 soldiers.
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