KABUL (SW) – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the $ 266M worth of humanitarian aid by the US for Afghanistan in the backdrop of the withdrawal of international troops.
It said in a statement that the Afghan government remained committed to use these funds to save lives, provide shelter and livelihoods, and health care, and providing water and food to those in need.
The MoFA also commended other international donors for their assistance in providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
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“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is grateful to Afghanistan’s neighbors for providing asylum to a significant number of Afghan refugees over the years”, it said, adding the Afghan government also hails the US government’s calls for a speedy peace process, ceasefire and an end to four decades of war.
Earlier on Friday, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more than $266 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
The assistance will provide support to “some of the estimated 18 million people in need in Afghanistan, including more than 4.8 million Afghans internally displaced,” Blinken said in a statement.
“This year alone, more than 115,000 persons have been displaced by conflict inside Afghanistan, and nearly 500,000 have returned to Afghanistan in need of assistance,” said the secretary. “This funding will allow our partners to provide lifesaving protection, shelter, livelihoods opportunities, essential health care, emergency food aid, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to respond to the needs generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”
It will also meet the needs of “the most vulnerable” Afghans, including women and girls facing particular risks such as gender-based violence as a result of the pandemic and decades of conflict.
With this assistance, US humanitarian aid for Afghanistan reached nearly $3.9 billion since 2002, according to the statement.
He reiterated Washington’s call to Afghan leaders and the Taliban to accelerate progress toward a negotiated political settlement and permanent and comprehensive ceasefire to bring an end to over 40 years of conflict
ENDS
