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World Bank board backs using $1 billion in frozen Afghan funds for aid
The executive board of the World Bank on Tuesday approved a plan to use more than $1 billion from a frozen Afghanistan trust fund to finance urgently needed education, agriculture, health and family programs, the bank announced.
The plan, which will bypass sanctioned Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) authorities by disbursing the money through U.N. agencies and international aid groups, will provide a major boost to efforts to ease the country’s worsening humanitarian and economic crises, Reuters reported.
The approach “aims to support the delivery of essential basic services, protect vulnerable Afghans, help preserve human capital and key economic and social services, and reduce the need for humanitarian assistance in the future,” the bank said in a statement.
Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) was frozen in August when the IEA overran Kabul as the last U.S.-led international troops departed after 20 years of war.
According to the report foreign governments ended financial aid constituting more than 70% of government expenditures while the United States led in the freezing of some $9 billion in Afghan central bank funds.
The funding cuts accelerated an economic collapse, fueling a cash crunch and deepening a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations says has pushed more than half of Afghanistan’s population of 39 million to the verge of starvation, read the report.
The World Bank statement said that as a first step, ARTF donors will decide on four projects worth about $600 million that will support “urgent needs in education, heath and agricultural sectors, as well as community livelihoods.”
There will be a “strong focus on ensuring that girls and women participate and benefit from the support,” the statement continued.
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Defense Minister stresses importance of religious and modern education in Afghanistan
Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has emphasized the importance of acquiring both religious and contemporary knowledge.
Speaking at a madrasa graduation ceremony in Kandahar province, he urged communities to support schools and education, stating: “Do not let your children remain uneducated. Pursue all forms of knowledge, both modern and religious.”
He added that the Islamic Emirate is committed to serving the people, with some forces protecting the borders and others safeguarding lives and property.
Separately, in a voice message to a separate ceremony in Khost, Mullah Tajmir Jawad, First Deputy of the General Directorate of Intelligence, highlighted Afghanistan’s historical role as a center of religious and scholarly learning, influenced by the Transoxiana and Deoband schools of thought.
He noted that today, Afghanistan has tens of thousands of active madrassas, educating a large number of youth, and that the Islamic Emirate gives special attention to both religious and modern sciences.
He said that the Islamic Emirate is also focused on reforming madrasa curricula, improving teaching methods, maintaining discipline, and raising the overall quality of education.
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US delivers second batch of Afghan Black Hawk helicopters to Peru
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Continued aid to Afghanistan vital for regional security: Kazakh president
Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has emphasized the continuation of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, stating that the ongoing provision of such aid plays an important role in ensuring regional security.
Speaking at the international conference “Peace and Trust” in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, Tokayev described addressing complex humanitarian challenges and the reconstruction of Afghanistan as a necessity.
“To ensure regional security, we consider it essential to continue providing assistance to Afghanistan, including by strengthening international efforts to address complex humanitarian issues and the reconstruction of this country. Kazakhstan remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan through humanitarian aid, educational projects, trade development, and food security initiatives,” he said.
Meanwhile, experts believe that sustainable improvement of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan requires broad cooperation from the international community and support for the country’s economic development.
“Investment can be defined as one of the fundamental drivers of the economic cycle, and whenever Afghan traders do not take their money out of the country and instead invest domestically, it naturally leads to greater growth and dynamism in Afghanistan’s economy,” said Abdul Zahoor Modabber, an economic analyst.
As the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan continues, reports by international relief organizations indicate that millions of citizens of the country are in urgent need of food, health, and livelihood assistance.
The reduction in funding for aid organizations, the impacts of climate change, and the return of migrants have increased concerns about a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.
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