The United States has sent roughly $11 billion to Afghanistan since it withdrew its military from the country in August 2021, according to a report from a government watchdog group.
The report, published on Oct. 30 2023, claims that the U.S. government has appropriated or made available about $11.11 billion in aid for Afghanistan and its refugees since the withdrawal. This figure includes:
- The nearly $2.52 billion for Afghanistan humanitarian and development aid
- The more than $3.5 billion that was transferred to the “Afghan Fund” (a fund that intends to rejuvenate the Afghan central bank and “related purposes”), and
- The more than $5.08 billion in fiscal years 2022 and 2023 that was spent by the Department of Defense in transporting, housing, and feeding Afghan refugees.
This means the United States remains the largest donor to Afghanistan and its people. This news comes as reports of foreign powers such as China are attempting to capitalize on the American military’s withdrawal by forming economic partnerships with the Taliban.
The study was conducted by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a special government oversight authority that was set up to monitor the situation in Afghanistan in 2008. According to their investigations, the U.S. has spent about $147.23 billion on Afghanistan relief and reconstruction since 2002.
(1/2) Two years after U.S. forces withdrew from #Afghanistan, United States remains largest donor to Afghan people. In that time, U.S. appropriated or otherwise made available $11.11 billion* in assistance to Afghanistan and Afghan refugees
— SIGAR (@SIGARHQ) November 1, 2023
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The report explains that many of these aid packages could have been intercepted by the Taliban:
“Taliban siphoning cash from UN shipments or collecting royalties or charging fees on cash shipments. The UN, NGOs, and other entities involved in aid efforts have paid administrative fees to various Taliban ministries, and these fees were recorded by the Taliban as inland revenue.”
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