INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
After US President Donald Trump issued an executive order instituting a 90-day pause in foreign development assistance, emergency
humanitarian assistance providing lifesaving food, nutrition, and healthcare was initially exempted, but terminated in April due to concerns
that the Islamic Emirate benefits from such aid, a US government watchdog said.
In a quarterly report, the Office of the Special Inspector
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said that following the order and subsequent review, all USAID programs to Afghanistan were
terminated, except for two awards supporting higher education.
USAID/Afghanistan funds two active programs as of April 15
Promote Scholarship Endowment, formerly Womens Scholarship Endowment, provides university scholarships for Afghan women in the fields of
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Supporting Student Success in Afghanistan funds online learning through the American
University of Afghanistan, with the goal of increasing access to higher education in Afghanistan.
SIGAR reported that on April 8, US State
Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed that previously exempt emergency food assistance to Afghanistan was terminated to mitigate
State also terminated other awards that provided cash-based assistance given concerns about misuse and a lack of appropriate
The Islamic Emirate has previously denied interference in the international assistance in Afghanistan.
According to SIGAR, the United
States has been the single largest donor to programs supporting the Afghan people, having disbursed more than $3.83 billion in humanitarian
and development assistance since the Islamic Emirate takeover in 2021.
The post US aid to Afghanistan in food and healthcare sectors also
terminated: SIGAR first appeared on TINS News.
