The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, and the Government of France have launched a €2 million initiative to support communities in eastern Afghanistan affected by the August 2025 earthquake.

The project, funded under the French Initiative for Food Security and Nutrition (FIFSAN), aims to restore food security, improve nutrition, and protect livelihoods, particularly for women and children.

The programme will directly reach 51,870 people in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces, with indirect benefits for approximately 190,000 more, focusing on rebuilding productive assets, promoting household food production, and reducing malnutrition.

Using FAO’s Cash+ approach, families will receive unconditional cash transfers, livestock protection packages, poultry and vegetable support, and nutrition education. UNICEF will complement these efforts by improving access to nutritious first foods, promoting optimal infant and young child feeding, and strengthening WASH services to prevent malnutrition.

“Targeted support gives families the space to recover with dignity rather than being forced into impossible choices,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan.

Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF Representative, added that nearly 80% of Afghan children affected by malnutrition are under two, making early intervention critical.

The joint initiative addresses both immediate needs and the long-term recovery of food systems, nutrition, and livelihoods in a region still reeling from natural disasters and repeated crises.

The U.S. State Department has begun paying Afghans to repatriate as it attempts to close a camp in Qatar where they have been stranded for years, Reuters quoted the top State Department official for South and Central Asia told lawmakers on Wednesday.

More than 1,100 people have been held at the former U.S. Army base Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) since at least early last year, when Republican President Donald Trump’s administration halted resettlement for Afghans who feared retribution from Islamic Emirate authorities for their links to the U.S. military.

Advocates say the group includes civilian refugees, women who served as special operators for the U.S. during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, and family members of U.S. servicemembers, all of whom would be in danger if returned to the country, read the report.

Democrats have blasted the administration’s plan to offer payment to those who agree to “self-deport” ahead of the planned closure of the facility at the end of March. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee holding the hearing on Wednesday, called it a “betrayal of our Afghan allies.”

Assistant Secretary of State S. Paul Kapur said he believed around 150 had already accepted the payments, but did not know what happened to them after they returned.

“We are not forcibly repatriating Afghans to Afghanistan. Some have gone of their own volition, but we’re not forcing anybody,” Kapur said.

“We’re looking to relocate them. We’re in negotiations with third countries to do that. Our belief is that is actually a good outcome. Keeping them indefinitely on CAS is not … reasonable.”

Kapur did not offer details of the payments and the State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Shawn VanDiver, head of AfghanEvac, a coalition of veterans and advocacy groups, told Reuters the payments being offered were $4,500 for a main applicant and $1,200 per additional person who relocates.

VanDiver said the repatriation was not truly voluntary, saying that staff at the facility in Qatar were telling the Afghans they should accept the offer, with third-country relocation uncertain.

No one can undermine the friendly relations and trust between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, affirmed Amir Khan Mutqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, during a meeting with Sadi Sharifi, Ambassador of Tajikistan to Kabul.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the meeting, Minister Muttaqi, while highlighting the development of diplomatic relations and exchanges of delegations between the two countries, stated that Afghanistan and Tajikistan, as neighboring, brotherly, and Muslim countries with shared cultural and linguistic ties, can take advantage of available opportunities to expand relations at all levels, especially in political, economic, and trade cooperation.

He added that no one can harm the friendly relations and atmosphere of trust between the two countries, and that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is firmly committed to further expanding relations with the Republic of Tajikistan.

Ambassador Sharifi also provided information regarding the latest developments and previous agreements between Kabul and Dushanbe. He emphasized that Tajikistan has significant economic programs and projects along the shared border and, with goodwill and based on current realities, seeks to expand economic relations and ongoing cooperation with Afghanistan.

In conclusion, the two sides discussed holding a joint economic committee, strengthening border and security cooperation, and the Foreign Ministries’ plans for the coming year.