2 yıl önce

World Bank reportedly okays unfreezing $280M to aid Afghanistan

Some 31 donors to Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund must approve fund transfer to World Food Program and UNICEF, Reuters news agency reports.

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Around 39 million Afghans are facing winter with food shortages and poverty is reaching every corner of the country.

World Bank's board has endorsed transferring $280 million from a frozen trust fund to two aid agencies to help Afghanistan cope with a brewing humanitarian crisis.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency on Wednesday that the 31 donors to the World Bank-administered Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) must approve the transfer before the funds could flow to the World Food Program and UNICEF.

The donors were expected to meet on Friday.

The World Bank board met informally on Tuesday to discuss transferring up to $500 million of the $1.5 billion in the ARTF to humanitarian aid agencies, people familiar with the plan.

Afghanistan's 39 million people face a cratering economy, a winter of food shortages, and growing poverty three months after the Taliban seized power after the Western-backed government collapsed and the last US troops withdrew from 20 years of war.

Questions over fund distributions

Afghan experts have said the aid would help, but big questions remain, including how to get funds into Afghanistan without exposing any financial institutions involved to US sanctions.

While the US Treasury has provided "comfort letters" assuring banks that they can process humanitarian transactions, concern about US sanctions continues to prevent the passage of even basic supplies, including food and medicine.

Any decision to redirect the ARTF money requires the approval of all its donors, of which the United States has been the largest.

The White House and the Treasury had no immediate comment on the World Bank board's endorsement of transferring the funds to the World Food Program and UNICEF.