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Saturday, Sep. 18, 2021

Have the US and other countries made new foreign aid commitments since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan?

Jacob Alabab-Moser, Gigafact

yes

International donors have pledged over $1.2 billion of humanitarian and development aid to Afghanistan. The amount includes a recent United Nations flash appeal seeking urgent relief for 11 million Afghans as well as a regional response. The U.S. pledged $64 million in additional humanitarian assistance, while China and several European countries were among donor countries making new funding pledges.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called humanitarian assistance an “entry point for effective engagement with the Taliban” after the Taliban conveyed its support for aid in the country. U.N. officials have called for any sanctions on the regime to exclude impartial humanitarian activities from their scope.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken clarified that in accordance with its sanctions on the Taliban, U.S. aid to Afghanistan “will not flow through the government, but rather through independent organizations like NGOs and U.N. agencies.”

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