Opium production is up 43 percent in Afghanistan, the economy is struggling and the government has lost ground to insurgents over the last year, according to an inspector general’s report released Sunday that shows ongoing failures overshadowing the few signs of hope.

Afghan army recruits increasingly are coming from the better-educated parts of society, and the army reports a high esprit de corps, but more of them also are being contacted by “anti-government elements” looking so sow dissension, the U.S. special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction said in its quarterly report to Congress.

The country averages 68 security incidents a day — the majority of which are shootouts, followed by explosive devices — and the first six months of 2016 were the deadliest in seven years. Nearly a third of the more than 5,000 killed or injured were children.

More people are fleeing as refugees, seeking to escape worsening conditions and adding to the surge of Middle Easterners who are putting pressure on the U.S. and Europe.

“Past gains are eroding: poverty, unemployment, underemployment, violence, out-migration, internal displacement, and the education gender gap have all increased, while services and private investment have decreased,” said the inspector general, citing World Bank conclusions.

Fifteen years after the U.S. intervened to oust the Taliban government, taxpayers have ponied up some $115.2 billion for relief and reconstruction, yet Afghanistan continues to struggle on many of the key ways to measure that investment.

This article originally appeared on www.washingtontimes.com , 30, October, 2016. Original link.

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