WASHINGTON - Corruption in Afghanistan is the major challenge facing the United States in its reconstruction endeavors in the country, head of Special Inspector General of Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko said.

Corruption "can undermine every single endeavor we undertake," John Sopko said at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

Outlining four main challenges facing SIGAR, Sopko said the first challenge is "the inability to define requirements, measure effectiveness and assess sustainability."

"U.S. agencies measure inputs and outputs rather than outcomes," he said, adding that "numbers don't tell Congress about the effectiveness of programs."

The second challenge is the "lack of coordination within our government, with the Afghans and with our partners in Europe and elsewhere," Sopko said. "By not coordinating the various lines of efforts ... we undermine our mission and waste U.S. taxpayer dollars."

The third challenge is "poor planning, oversight and accountability," he said, noting that nearly $13 million USD allocated for an Afghan electricity operator was never used.

"Fraud kills," he said. "Oversight is not just about saving money. It's also about saving lives."

The fourth challenge is corruption, he said, adding the phenomenon was undermining all the efforts of U.S in Afghanistan reconstructions.

Despite the establishment of a number of anti-corruption bodies over the past decade, the phenomenon has put Afghanistan at the top of the list of the world's fraud-hit countries.

According to analysts, millions of dollars in aid to Afghanistan were wasted in the country during the past 15 years. (Tolonews)