US announces additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan

The United States has pledged to donate nearly $144 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, amid a looming economic and humanitarian crisis.

This assistance brings the total US humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in the region to nearly $474 million in 2021, the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, the assistance will flow through independent humanitarian organizations – including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Organization for Migration (IOM), the World Health Organization (WHO) – who provide support directly to more than 18.4 million vulnerable Afghans in the region, including Afghan refugees in neighboring countries.

“Our partners provide lifesaving protection, shelter, livelihoods support, essential health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation, and hygiene services in response to the growing humanitarian needs exacerbated by healthcare shortages, drought, malnutrition, and the impending winter,” the statement read.

This comes as the people of Afghanistan have been struggling with poverty and a humanitarian crisis since the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took over Kabul in mid-August. 

The US has frozen nearly $10 billion of the Afghan Central Bank’s assets. The US Treasury has said that there are no plans to release the money.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also blocked the IEA from accessing some $440 million in new emergency reserves.