Today at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Kingdom, Germany, and Qatar-hosted virtual pledging conference, the United States announced it is providing nearly $204 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan. This funding includes over $70 million through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and continues America’s enduring support of the Afghan people, bringing the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan to more than $4.6 billion since 2002, the largest amount of assistance from any country.
The assistance announced today will enable USAID partners to provide trauma care and essential health services, including deploying mobile medical teams for Afghans beyond the reach of the health system, as well as training of health staff; cash assistance to support non-food items such as heating fuel and other basic needs; nutrition; shelter; water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance; and other basic household items for people most impacted by Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian crisis. This funding also supports protection activities, to address the increasing vulnerabilities of women and girls since the Taliban takeover. USAID partners work with the health, nutrition, and education sectors to identify those in need of protection assistance and safely provide support—including safe spaces and psychosocial support for women and girls, case management for survivors of gender-based violence, training for social workers and community case workers, and programs to reunite children separated from their families. Finally, this new funding will support humanitarian coordination efforts with the UN and non-governmental organizations to identify and plan against urgent needs and any gaps in response support for the most vulnerable.
Today’s announcement builds on previous USAID humanitarian assistance delivered over the last year to address life-threatening hunger and acute malnutrition as more than 22 million people in Afghanistan are facing extreme food insecurity.
The United States remains committed to delivering aid to the most vulnerable in Afghanistan, and we commend the pledges made at today’s donor event. Continued immediate, significant, and sustained assistance is desperately needed to address critical humanitarian needs, and to help alleviate urgent needs of the most vulnerable people. While the United States remains committed to supporting the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people, we continue to press Taliban leadership to reverse its decision to restrict the human rights of Afghan girls to receive an education. This decision by the Taliban, if it is not swiftly reversed, will profoundly harm the Afghan people, the country’s prospects for economic growth, and the Taliban’s ambition to improve their relations with the international community.
For the latest updates on USAID’s humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, visit here.