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UN sends in millions to pay Afghan health workers

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The United Nations has paid nearly $8 million in salaries to some 23,500 health workers across Afghanistan over the past month, bypassing the health ministry in a test case to inject much-needed liquidity into a dire Afghan economy.

The U.N. development agency UNDP and the Global Fund health aid organization teamed up to resurrect a program that had been funded by the World Bank until it suspended assistance when the Western-backed Afghan government collapsed and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took control in August.

The United Nations has been struggling to get enough cash into Afghanistan to help deliver humanitarian aid to millions of people on the brink of famine and prevent the collapse of the economy and health and education services, Reuters reported.

"Someone had to step in. We were confronted not just with a health system that was collapsing, but also a financial system that was collapsing," UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Kanni Wignaraja, told Reuters.

"Global Fund took the financial risk, we took the implementation risk to make these payments happen," she said. "We've shown it's possible, it can work ... it goes a huge long way to saving at least the people's economy in the country."

The Global Fund provided $15 million, of which nearly $8 million was used for salaries, while much of the rest was spent on providing basic medical equipment, essential drugs and supplies, Reuters reported. UNDP worked out how to get the funds into the country and into the hands of health workers in 31 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces.

Wignaraja said UNDP wired some of the money to the Afghanistan International Bank and then used a large money service provider, which UNDP declined to identify for security reasons, to distribute the rest.

The health workers paid so far - working in nearly 2,200 health facilities - had money deposited into bank accounts, while another 2,500 health workers will shortly be paid in cash because they are in remote areas.

"It's given hope to these families. It's reignited healthcare services," said Wignaraja, adding that the program would now be run by the World Health Organization and the U.N. children's agency UNICEF for the next three months.

"Without this, you literally would have all the Afghan doctors, nurses, technicians, heading across borders," she added.

During that time Wignaraja said the United Nations would talk to the World Bank to see if it was then able to take over the program again or find a hybrid solution if the bank is unable to get any approvals needed to do so.

Wignaraja said the payment of health workers salaries over the past month had helped spark the re-opening of some banks.

"The minute you start the local community economic activity and people are able to deposit money and take money these banks are able to open their local branches," she said.

After showing it could work, the United Nations would continue using the formal banking system and money service providers to get cash into Afghanistan for the next few months, Wignaraja said, although she added that U.N. agencies were also considering a need to bring U.S. dollars into the country.

"This has been for us a pretty crazy test run of the system," she said of the payments to health workers, adding that she hoped international donors were "watching it really closely."

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Deputy PM’s office says modernization of land ports a priority for IEA

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The Deputy Prime Minister of Economic Affairs’ office says the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has prioritized the growth of trade, the modernization of commercial land ports and the development of infrastructure.

The Deputy PM’s office said that in today's world, trade plays an important role in the economic development of countries, the social well-being of society, and the development of trade requires the creation of a single trade system and the removal of existing barriers and the

reduction of customs tariffs.

“Our ports with a number of neighboring countries are active 24 hours a day. We are trying to make our ports with all neighboring countries active 24 hours a day because we want our business to expand both in the export and import sectors. Therefore, we also have plans to

standardize ports so that our ports can export and import according to standards with all countries,” said Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzadah, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Deputy PM’s office stated the IEA has intensified its efforts in this field, an example of which is the increase in the country's export level.

It added that the level of trade deficit is still high, but detailed plans have been drawn up to eliminate the existing deficit in the trade sector.

Meanwhile, the installation of electronic scanners at 12 customs points at border crossings of the country is one example of work being done to modernize the land ports.

Torghundi, Islam Qala, Zaranj, Spin Boldak, Ghulam Khan, Torkham, Aqina, Hairatan and Shir Khan are important land ports through which thousands of tons of goods are moved through daily.

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EU envoy meets acting economy minister, discusses continued aid to Afghanistan

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Acting Economy Minister Deen Mohammad Hanif met on Thursday with the EU envoy for Afghanistan, Veronika Boskovic Pohar, for discussions on the continuation of humanitarian and development aid to the country, the ministry said in a statement.

Hanif expressed his appreciation for the humanitarian assistance of the EU to the people of Afghanistan and requested the continuation of the assistance in various sectors.

Boskovic Pohar also expressed her satisfaction with the achievements and economic programs of the Islamic Emirate and assured Hanif of holding a conference soon on the support of small enterprises.

Boskovic Pohar also promised to cooperate by allocating $100 million in support of humanitarian aid and development projects in the agriculture sector.

She also assured him that they will share the objectives, ideas and proposals of the Ministry of Economy with the members of the EU and the international community.

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US expert says Trump may be more willing than Biden to engage with IEA

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Michael Kugelman, a US-based foreign policy expert and the Director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center, said on Thursday that president-elect Donald Trump may be more willing than incumbent President Joe Biden to engage with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

Kugelman said in a post on X that Trump will praise the IEA for its operations against Daesh and it will be something that will have his attention, given that he liked to claim credit for curbing Daesh.

Kugelman has in the past said that Trump, as president, would be less likely to focus on the state of women’s education and human rights in Afghanistan.

The IEA has expressed hope that under Trump, significant progress can be made in relations between Kabul and Washington.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the IEA’s foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the government hopes the future Trump administration "will take realistic steps toward concrete progress in relations between the two countries and both nations will be able to open a new chapter of relations".

He underscored that during former president Trump's first term in power he presided over a peace deal with the Islamic Emirate that paved the way for the US withdrawal in 2021 "after which the 20 year occupation ended".

The Doha agreement was signed on February 29, 2020, in Qatar between the IEA and the United States under Trump, but excluded Afghanistan's then-ruling government.

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