The United States has announced $150 million in new aid for Afghanistan to improve food security and support women and girls in the country.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has informed of an $80 million commitment to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will improve food security and nutrition for Afghans experiencing severe food insecurity, including women, women-headed households, and smallholder farmers and herders.
Meanwhile, USAID and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) signed a $40 million agreement to increase international support for Afghan children, particularly adolescent girls, to realize their right to education.
With this assistance, USAID will help Afghan farmers increase the production of nutritious food using environmentally sustainable practices, and increase the availability of quality seeds and other agricultural inputs.
This funding will also improve smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate and economic shocks through crop diversification and promoting agricultural best practices, including through support to small-scale food producers, women, family farmers, pastoralists, and fishers.
In the meantime, Afghanistan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) says continued drought and recent flash floods in the country have caused huge losses for the country’s farmers and orchard owners.
Officials for the ministry of agriculture, irrigation and livestock say the ministry needs urgent assistance of the international community to provide necessary assistance to those farmers and orchard owners whose fields and orchards have been affected by continued drought and recent flash floods in the country.
“We need necessary funds as most agricultural fields, orchards and canals of farmers and orchard owners have been affected due to continued drought and recent flash floods in the country,” said Misbahuddin Mustaeen, a spokesperson to the ministry of agriculture, irrigation and livestock.
Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has said that it needs $172 million urgent assistance to provide necessary aid for the needy people of Afghanistan.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is still worried about the current crisis in Afghanistan and has said that the people of Afghanistan are paying a heavy price in this situation. According to IRC, reduction in funds, freezing of Afghanistan assets and problems in the banking system have deteriorated the country’s economic situation. Therefore, a number of Afghan people who had monetary reserves in banks for business transactions are now unable to benefit from their monetary reserves for business transactions.
Currently, the Islamic Emirate (IEA) is making effort to somehow grow the economy of Afghanistan and provide business opportunities for people, but the efforts are still insufficient. The government has been urged to facilitate more job opportunities to improve the current situation in Afghanistan.
Kohistani
U.S. announces $150 million in aid to Afghanistan
