U.S. to Provide Additional $204 Million in Assistance to Afghans

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. State Department said the U.S. would give an additional $204 million in humanitarian aid “to help the people of Afghanistan.”

The announcement Thursday comes as the U.S. remains at odds with the Taliban, which seized control of the country last August, prompting a chaotic exit by American and other forces.

Ned Price a State Department spokesman, said in a statement that about $134 million would come from the department and more than $70 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Price said the aid, along with assistance pledged by other countries, would be distributed “through independent humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.”

“This funding will provide emergency cash, shelter, trauma care and essential health services, water, sanitation and hygiene assistance, protection and gender-based violence services,” Price said, adding the latest aid brings the U.S. commitment to more than $720 million since August.

Price reiterated U.S. criticism of the Taliban for reversing a commitment to reopen high schools to girls. The outcry over that last-minute decision posed the latest setback for a regime struggling to build a footing in the international community.

The country is facing financial and humanitarian crises. The UN has warned that a million children could die from malnutrition and as much as 97% of the population could be living in poverty by mid-2022, up from about 72% in 2020.

Earlier: U.S. Slams Taliban U-Turn on Reopening High Schools to Girls

The Taliban have sought talks with the U.S. to reverse its decision to use the Afghan central bank's reserves to compensate victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and support aid efforts in the country. The Afghan government is also pressing the UN for recognition and a member's seat, with the lack of international recognition hurting the country's economy and diplomacy.

President Joe Biden in February issued an executive order to transfer $7 billion in central bank assets frozen in the U.S. into a consolidated account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, with the U.S. seeking to use $3.5 billion for assistance to the Afghan people. The other $3.5 billion would remain in the U.S., pending ongoing litigation brought by the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.