Leer en Español
The administration of Joe Biden today announced an additional $64 million in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, but warned that the new Taliban regime is hampering aid operations and demanded that it allow them to continue safely.
The humanitarian aid shipment, announced by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield at today’s international conference organized in solidarity with Afghanistan, will go primarily to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The Taliban are obstructing and interfering with aid deliveries, prohibiting the work of female staff and even retaliating against people delivering or receiving assistance,” Thomas-Greenfield warned, however.
Such actions “are unacceptable, they destabilize Afghanistan and the region, and they cannot continue, for aid workers are the best of our societies and must be able to do their vital work safely,” he added.
Following the “recent transition” in Afghanistan, the diplomat said, the Taliban must keep their promises to protect not only aid workers, but also women and girls.
The aid announced today brings the total U.S. commitment for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan this year to $330 million, she said, urging the rest of the international community to show equal solidarity with the plight of the Afghan people.
The international conference, organized by UN Secretary General António Guterres, seeks to raise $606 million to fund relief operations in the country and help 11 million people, almost a third of the national population.
