UN pleads for aid to Afghanistan

The Biden administration offered an additional $308 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan on Tuesday, on the same day the United Nations released a response plan asking for $5 billion. That brings total U.S. assistance to the country to more than $780 million since the Taliban took over in August. The previous government was 80 percent funded by international aid, which has been cut off for the Taliban.

Where will the money go? The international community still does not recognize the Taliban government, so the money will be poured into humanitarian organizations. The U.S. Agency for International Development will distribute the $308 million to boost health services, emergency food aid, and winter shelter. But aid workers have struggled to operate freely in the country. The UN reported more than half the country’s population faces hunger and malnutrition, including millions of children. State employees have not been paid in months, and banks have restricted money withdrawals. Some Afghans have sold organs or even children to make ends meet. 

Dig deeper: Read Sophia Lee’s profile in WORLD Magazine on church organizations welcoming Afghan refugees in Virginia.