By Charlotte Greenfield
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The head of a major aid organization said US President Donald Trump’s order to freeze foreign aid for 90 days would have immediate and catastrophic consequences in Afghanistan, where aid operations are already depleted.
When he took office on Monday, Trump ordered a temporary pause in foreign development aid pending evaluations of its effectiveness and consistency with his foreign policy.
The scope of the order was unclear, including whether it related to humanitarian funding for Afghanistan, which is channeled through non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies.
Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters the decision upset agencies as they prepared for further cuts to Afghanistan’s biggest donor.
“A 90-day suspension of all aid, with no new grants, no new funding transfer, will have immediate catastrophic consequences … for an already starved relief operation for the very poor and vulnerable girls, women and civilians in Afghanistan,” he said. during a video interview from Kabul late Tuesday.
The war-torn nation is home to more than 23 million people in need of humanitarian aid – more than half the country’s population – but aid has dwindled as donors face competing global crises and diplomats express concern over Taliban restrictions on women in most areas of public life. including education and health.
Development funding that formed the backbone of the government’s finances was cut off after the Taliban took power and foreign forces left in 2021.
Reuters reported last year that non-governmental groups played a key role in filling the humanitarian gap.
“If you go back in time, it was a well-funded operation, we got development aid, then maybe we could live through three months of suspension, we can’t do it anymore,” Egeland said.
At a rally shortly before taking office, Trump said that aid to Afghanistan would depend on the return of billions of dollars in military equipment left behind by US forces.
Egeland said he has raised the issue of women’s education with Taliban leaders in his four visits to Kabul since they took control of the country. On his last trip, he said he told them they had to open schools and universities for all girls and women.
“You can’t not educate half your population,” he said.
The Taliban also banned Afghan women from working in non-governmental organizations from 2022, reiterating that stance in another announcement late last year.
Egeland said that in practice his organization and others have been able to work around the restrictions.
But this was called into question by the lack of funds.
“What is not understood in Western capitals is that the recent layoff of female staff, the layoff of girls and women (recipients) is not a Taliban ban … it is a cut in aid,” he said.
