As Poverty Grows, SIGAR Says Nearly $3 Billion Sent to Afghanistan in Aid 

When the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the country was cut off from the outside world overnight. The banking and financial systems were paralyzed and foreign aid, the main source of subsistence for the government and the economy ceased to flow. The implications were noticeable right away. Poverty, unemployment, and food shortage rose to unprecedented highs.

After makeshift policy interventions, the UN began shipping money to the cash-strapped economy that would bypass restrictions around international financial transactions. While the humanitarian and economic crisis has only deepened, the UN has sent nearly $3 billion cash to Afghanistan, according to a new report by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).