Paris —- Donors ranging from the U.S. to the World Bank pledged more than $21 billion for Afghanistan on Thursday —- but this time they want their money better spent in the desperately poor country where the president is barely in charge.

Benefactors that have already poured billions into Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban nearly seven years ago said they want greater coordination of the handouts and more involvement by President Hamid Karzai's administration.

In opening their pockets yet again, many donors complained about endemic corruption that has bled past donations in a nation where illegal drugs are the mainstay of a broken economy.

"Corruption threatens to ruin everything so many have worked so hard to build," Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller told delegates from about 80 nations and international organizations.

Afghan officials detailed a five-year plan that envisions a national government better able to manage its affairs and be accountable for the result, but Afghanistan and its many patrons all recognize it is a long way from true financial or security independence.

The continued threat from insurgents, and the consequences of fighting them, were spotlighted this week when a U.S. airstrike along Afghanistan's lawless border with Pakistan killed 11 Pakistani soldiers under disputed circumstances.

The deaths put the U.S. on the defensive about its priorities and tactics just as first lady Laura Bush visited the country this week to try to draw attention to small-scale projects that increase the number of children in school, promote investment and the like.

Afghanistan's strategic place at the crossroads of the fight against global terrorism is a large reason that the world is willing to donate heavily, but even a $10.2 billion pledge from the U.S. is not enough to make much of a dent in Afghanistan's many problems.

The pledged U.S. money is a mix of what Congress already has approved for this year and next, and about $7 billion more sought by the Bush administration but that Congress has not approved.

The new pledges are in addition to $25 billion pledged by the international community since 2002. However, only $15 billion —- 60 percent —- of the previous pledges have come through so far.

"In general, the average Afghan hasn't seen one dollar of this aid," said Dr. Eric Cheysson, co-founder of French humanitarian group Doctors of the World.

In one effort to make Afghan finances more transparent, the donors announced a plan for Afghan and international officials to conduct joint audits of government programs.

In another example, inspectors will be sent to monitor a U.S. program giving farmers vouchers to buy seed, fertilizer and other materials, to make sure they don't grow opium poppies.

Most Afghans lack proper sanitation and 80 percent have no electricity in their homes. Life expectancy remains under 50 years, and food shortages and rising prices over the past year have pushed many Afghans into desperation. Aid groups say families are trying to feed 10 people on two loaves of the distinctive national flatbread, and fathers are scavenging bread scraps in the streets.

"Every project must have an impact on the daily lives of Afghans —- and over the long term," Cheysson said.

MAJOR DONATIONS

> United States: $10.2 billion, over two years

> Asian Development Bank: $1.3 billion, over five years

> Britain: $1.1 billion, through 2013

> World Bank: $1.1 billion, over five years

> European Union: $770 million, through 2010

> Germany: $653 million, through 2010

> Canada: $600 million

> Norway: $500 million, over five years

> United Arab Emirates: $250 million

> Australia: $234 million, over three years

> Italy: $195 million, over three years

> Saudi Development Fund: $118 million

> Aga Khan Development Network: $100 million, over five years

> Denmark: $84 million

> Iran: $50 million in aid, $300 million in loans, over 3 years

> South Korea: $30 million, over three years

> China: $2.2 million

—- Associated Press