The Treasury Division on Wednesday introduced it was issuing particular licenses to make sure that some worldwide help might circulation to Afghanistan, the place the financial system collapsed following the Taliban takeover in August.
The licenses will allow the U.S. authorities, worldwide organizations such because the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations to function within the nation and provide humanitarian help regardless of sanctions. They may also permit Afghans dwelling overseas to ship cash to their households in Afghanistan by remittances.
“We’re dedicated to supporting the folks of Afghanistan,” stated Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo in a press release. “Sadly, the financial system faces grave challenges, exacerbated by the nation’s lengthy dependence on overseas help, donor and personal sector flight sparked by the Taliban’s takeover, drought, structural macroeconomic points, and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
WATCH: Afghanistan is getting ready to mass hunger. The place is worldwide help?
The U.S. authorities has labeled Afghanistan’s Taliban and the associated Haqqani community as terrorists, severely limiting their entry to international establishments and the skin cash that supported the nation’s financial system earlier than the withdrawal of U.S. forces this yr and the swift demise of its earlier authorities.
Biden administration officers face the awkward process of attempting to assist the Afghan folks with out additionally funding a Taliban authorities that the U.S.-led coalition supplanted after the 9/11 assaults in 2001 after which fought for roughly 20 years.
As a lot as 80% of Afghanistan’s finances comes from the worldwide group. With out larger entry to overseas cash, the Afghan financial system is prone to contract by about 30% this yr — furthering the humanitarian disaster.
The State Division stated the U.S. authorities plans to supply Afghanistan with a further 1 million vaccine doses within the coming weeks. That brings the overall U.S. donation for Afghanistan to 4.3 million doses, although the nation has an estimated inhabitants of about 40 million.
Earlier in December, the U.S. authorities labored to switch $280 million from the World Financial institution’s Afghanistan reconstruction belief fund to U.N. organizations to deal with well being and diet wants within the nation.
