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International organizations, humanitarian lawyers and policy makers have expressed concern about the abuse of foreign aid in Afghanistan. These concerns have been strengthened by the Taliban in August 2021 since the takeover of Kabul. diverted To strengthen the rule of the Taliban and to finance their projects. This raises further questions about the reliability and legitimacy of the Taliban regime, in the midst of deteriorating humanitarian disorders.
International donations, which are received directly through NGOs, often coordinated by international organizations such as the United Nations, have become a source of food and other supplies for millions of poor, starving and disadvantaged Afghans. According to the 2024 Global Hunger Index Report30.4 percent of the Afghans are underfaged, 44.6 percent of the children in the country are left younger than five and 5.8 percent of the children die for their fifth birthday.
It is believed that a significant part of foreign aid to Afghanistan is being diverted to the Taliban’s own benefit. This concern was displayed by American Congressman Tim Burchett, who said that NGOs have assigned almost $ 10 million in taxes to the Taliban. These payments made to obtain operational permission have become a source of income for the Taliban, as well as cash shipments that are intended for humanitarian purposes.
In a letter of 2 January to President-Elect Trump, Burchett also wrote that “these cash shipments are being auctioned, and then they are almost impossible to follow. This is how the Taliban is financed and is planning to finance terrorism around the world.
The Taliban rejected claims of direct financial support from the United States or its allies time and time again. Taliban spokespersons have described Their government as able to stand on its own, which states that the money it received from international donors are blocked or working for the well -being of the people. The opaque of the Taliban regime only contributes to the difficulty in implementing humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. The foreign aid policy that the Biden administration has introduced for the Afghanistan government has led to a few corrosive criticism. When the Taliban seized power, development aid was put on hold; Nevertheless, humanitarian aid continued, especially among the Auxiliary mission of the United Nations in Afghanistan (Unama)
Unama has stated that all the money sent to the country must be channeled through private banks and the selected partners of the organization, without direct credit to the Taliban-controlled person Central bank. However, such an approach increases the fears because of the weaknesses of auxiliary distribution mechanisms in Afghanistan, despite the various failure measures. Reports that the Taliban reportedly used these funds for other purposes, such as paying government employees through salaries in the public sector, only making it worse because it enforces the fine line between humanitarian aid and the financing of a government.
These worries about whether help reaches the intended recipients or is ultimately diverted are not unfounded. Experience has shown that in affected countries, different organizations in the field of land use to catch help intended for needy persons. An example is the aforementioned taxation of the Taliban of NGOs and other organizations that work in Afghanistan. On the one hand, the Taliban can generate a reliable source of financing; On the other hand, this influences the credibility of the auxiliary system, because donating entities doubt whether their contributions actually help achieve the humanitarian goals they claim to pursue. In addition, report that of Afghanistan Taliban authorities It is said that it has been stealing for food aid more demands from international actors for strict supervision and better tools to prevent the risk that funds can support conflicts and human rights violations.
Afghanistan experiences a humanitarian crisis. Even today, a significant part of the Afghan population survives on foreign funds. According to the United Nations, more than 50 percent of the population requires this help.
The sharp suffering as a result of famine, economic collapse, natural disasters and the strict rules of the Taliban demand that help do not stop. But the problem is how you can ensure that this help reach the needy without strengthening the Taliban or to help them consolidate their authoritarian regime. Critics have argued in different ways that the Lack of sufficient monitoring To ensure that aid money reaches its target group, the main reason is that foreign aid is easily aimed for a different purpose. This is the moral dilemma with which international donors are confronted. If the international organizations refuse to offer help, that would push the Afghan people further to poverty and hopelessness. However, if they continue to offer help without strict controls and balances, this will be the Taliban regimewho is already involved in discrimination against women and human rights violations.
Solving these challenging problems requires creativity. It will require aid organizations to improve the role of technology in the service of transparency, to work directly with the local communities to answer their grievances and to improve the research of organizations that currently receive foreign help. The Taliban regime is not only involved in the abuse of foreign aid, but also in other issues such as governance -abnormalities, with the exception of women of work and education, suppressing religious and ethnic minorities and the imposition of authoritarian management methods. This policy is based on ideological motivations instead of having the goal of improving the common people, that the trust of both the Afghan people and the donor countries further outdoors. The issue of aid deviation in Afghanistan also raises questions about the broader consequences. The majority of the money generated by corruption and distraction is reportedly used to finance terrorist activities both regionally and internationally, resulting in an important threat.
Despite their objective of offering life-saving help, large donor organizations such as those under the UN platform find it difficult to work in Afghanistan because of logistics and political challenges. Data transparency, better coordination between donors and involvement with the local actors to ensure that accountability is needed.
Humanitarian organizations and politicians have to work together to take on the aid -related challenges in Afghanistan. Other international authorities must also take the lead to reduce corruption opportunities and at the same time protect support for the Afghan people in need. Exploring modalities such as direct digital cash transfers to vulnerable people can help eliminate intermediaries who can abuse funds. Moreover, helping civil society and the growth of the local community is strong to reduce dependence on foreign aid.