US says it has robust oversight measures to monitor humanitarian aid

The US government has robust oversight measures in place to monitor the implementation of US-funded humanitarian assistance around the world, US State Department said on Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday, John Sopko, the US special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has diverted a “considerable amount” of American assistance to Afghanistan and policymakers must make tough choices when it comes to providing aid.

“The US Government has robust oversight measures in place to monitor the implementation of US-funded humanitarian assistance around the world, which we provide to help save the most vulnerable of lives,” Mathew Miller, the US State Department’s spokesperson, said in a press conference. “In cases where the Taliban (IEA) makes demands of our partners beyond routine operational costs, our partners pause or adjust their operations accordingly.”

“We work with trusted international partners who have extensive experience working on – in the challenging environments like Afghanistan, where we have no presence. And we continually assess our activities to ensure both our assistance is reaching those for which it is intended and that our partners have appropriate mitigation measures in place to help safeguard against diversion. And if we need to take steps to change how we’re delivering our aid, we of course will always do so.”

Sopko told the US House foreign affairs committee that the IEA “routinely” pressure US partners to hire their allies, award contracts to companies affiliated with them and dictate which Afghans should receive US aid.

However, the Islamic Emirate rejected Sopko’s statements that the IEA is either benefiting or diverting US aid and said the claims were baseless.

“America and Western countries do not cooperate with and help the Islamic Emirate, and regarding the [special] inspector general of the United States of America for the reconstruction of Afghanistan that you mentioned, neither does it have any official office in Afghanistan, nor does it coordinate with the officials of the Islamic Emirate, so neither their statements nor their claims have any validity,” said Bilal Karimi, the IEA’s Deputy Spokesman.