World Bank releases 280 million medical and food aid to Afghanistan | abroad

Since the creation of the Reconstruction Fund in 2002, donor countries have provided more than $12 billion in aid to Afghanistan. In the past, the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund has worked closely with the Afghan government to disburse the money. But since the radical Islamist Taliban movement seized power this summer, the funds have been frozen. That’s while the country, already in a deep economic crisis, survives 43 percent on foreign aid, according to World Bank figures.

Because of corruption, much of the foreign aid money in recent years has not ended up with the Afghan people, but has largely disappeared into the pockets of those in power. The World Bank described Friday’s decision as an important first step to “repurpose” the money. Of the $280 million that will be saved, 100 million will go to UNICEF for medical assistance and 180 million to the World Food Program.

According to the United Nations, 93 percent of Afghan families have very little to eat, and 22 million people will face severe food shortages this winter. An estimated 3.5 million people in the country have also been displaced.