Three Ways USAID Has Continued to Support the People of Afghanistan

One year ago, on August 15, 2021, the world watched in horror as the Government of Afghanistan collapsed after an extensive military advance by the Taliban. Since those chaotic first days, the Taliban takeover has led to economic and political instability and the deterioration of basic services across the country, including increased prices of staple foods, and left more than half the country’s population in need of humanitarian support.

USAID and is partners have been providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan prior to the Taliban takeover on August 15, and we and our partners have not stopped providing lifesaving aid since then. Photos: (Top) WFP, UNICEF/Sayed Bidel; (Bottom) WFP, USAID, IOM

Well before the August 15 collapse of the Government of Afghanistan, USAID had supported a robust humanitarian response in Afghanistan alongside our partners on the ground–and we never stopped. Since August 2021, the United States has provided more than $774 million in humanitarian assistance to support the people of Afghanistan, including more than $573 million from USAID.

Here are three ways USAID has continued to save lives and stand by the people of Afghanistan over the past year:

1. Helped Avert Food Security Crisis

USAID partner the World Food Program (WFP) distributed wheat, split peas, and vegetable oil to communities in Faryab Province, Afghanistan on December 11, 2021. Photo: WFP

Relief groups, including USAID partners, averted a worst-case food security scenario by scaling up emergency food assistance in the fall and winter months. With USAID support, our partners have reached more than 11 million people with critical food and nutrition assistance since August 2021. In addition, USAID partner the UN World Food Program continues to position food and other supplies near strategic border crossing points in the region and throughout the country for distribution in the coming winter months.

On November 27, 2021, a convoy of trucks from USAID partner the World Food Program (WFP) traveled through Balkh Province in Afghanistan to deliver food to communities in need. Photo: Julian Frank/WFP

2. Kept Families Safe During Winter

To help protect families in Afghanistan against the harsh winter weather, USAID and its partners provided shelter, fuel, blankets, warm clothing, and more. Photo: UNICEF/Omid Fazel

With the onset of a harsh winter, U.S. humanitarian partners ramped up assistance — especially shelter support — to protect people from the cold. In mid 2021, we were reaching approximately 358,000 people with shelter assistance; this number jumped to 1.2 million people in the ensuing months. Aid organizations also helped vulnerable families stay warm by providing blankets, fuel, heaters, shelter repair kits, and winter clothing, in addition to cash for rent.

USAID worked with partners to distribute winterization kits in different provinces of Afghanistan to vulnerable families to help them through the harsh Afghan winter. These kits included blankets, tarps, water buckets, and warm clothes. Photos: UNICEF/Sayed Bidel

3. Responded Rapidly to the June 2022 Earthquake

People walk amidst the rubble of damaged houses following an earthquake in Gayan district, Paktika province on June 22, 2022. The magnitude 5.9 earthquake affected hundreds of thousands of people. Photo: Emmanuel Peuchot/AFP

On June 22, 2022, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck eastern Afghanistan. Within hours, USAID partners were responding with vital relief including emergency health care, food, shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance. With support from USAID and other donors, the International Organization for Migration distributed more than 30,000 emergency kits to more than 40,000 earthquake survivors in Khost and Paktika provinces — the two areas most severely affected by the earthquake.

After the magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit eastern Afghanistan, USAID partner the International Organization for Migration (IOM) sent 17 trucks to earthquake-affected areas — carrying tents, blankets, clothes, shelter repair and reconstruction toolkits, and other basic items — to reach 1,200 families whose houses have been destroyed. Photos: IOM

The past year has been devastating to the people of Afghanistan, many of whom have faced insecurity and uncertainty as they’ve struggled to meet their basic needs amid conflict, displacement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters, all on top of the Taliban takeover. The United States will continue to stand with the Afghan people and remains committed to delivering aid to the most vulnerable.

Graphic: Mardri Gaston-Williams/USAID

Get more information on USAID’s response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

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