UK aid cuts 59 per cent of funds for Afghanistan

The humanitarian aid given to Afghanistan by the Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been reduced by 59 per cent, informed the UK Parliament on Saturday, reported the Tolo News.

Tolo News is an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul, Afghanistan. Owned by the Moby Media Group, it was launched in August 2010 as Afghanistan's first twenty-four-hour news channel.

The statement reported by the Tolo News states that "The Equality Impact Assessment sets out what this means in reality for some of the poorest countries in the world, experiencing the worst humanitarian crises: Yemen saw its UK ODA allocation cut by 45 per cent; Afghanistan by an incredible 76 per cent."

The FCDO sought to mitigate these cuts but was only able to offer limited additional support. For Afghanistan, this still resulted in a 59 per cent cut, quoted the Tolo News.

The assessment was published by the International Development Committee, citing the report by Tolo News.

The reports claimed that the percentage of reduction changed from 76 to 59 per cent after female doctors in Afghanistan voiced concerns that a cut in aid will cause a surge in the maternal death rate.

“In this regard, the WHO should not be negligent. Also, other organizations which are active with help for women and children should not be negligent about it and there is a need for international aid to be attracted,” said Najmul Sama Shafajo, a doctor, reported the Tolo News.

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the situation of people, especially women in Afghanistan has only deteriorated as the country is under a massive humanitarian crisis.

People continue to face food shortages, and the basic amenities and the situation of women in the country have only got worse.