Afghanistan

Afghanistan is the world’s leading supplier for illegal opiates, a trade which provides a considerable source of funding for insurgents and terrorists.  The illicit opiate economy impacts society, threatens regional stability, undermines legitimate economic development, impedes governance, and is fueling a growing public health crisis (particularly among women and children) in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. Only a small percentage of heroin trafficked to the United States has been traced to Afghanistan. 
 

The Afghan government has the lead responsibility for security and oversight of counternarcotics efforts. The U.S. Strategy for Counternarcotics in Afghanistan is not focused simply on stemming the flow of illegal drugs, but centers on building credible Afghan government institutions capable of breaking the narcotics-insurgency nexus, achieving sustainable reductions in opium/heroin production and subsequent trafficking, and responding to the public health crises arising from burgeoning opiate addiction.  U.S. counternarcotics goals are aligned with the Afghan Government’s counternarcotics priorities as outlined in Afghanistan’s National Drug Control Strategy and are defined in the U.S. Counternarcotics Strategy for Afghanistan. U.S. counternarcotics efforts are integrated with the Administration’s broader stability and security goals for Afghanistan and the region and are undertaken as part of a continuum of law enforcement, governance, and development activities that are designed to reinforce the Afghanistan’s ability to reduce the threat from the illegal drug economy.

 

Crop Estimates