U.S. Increases Humanitarian Aid To Afghanistan By $144 Million Amid Crisis

A young Afghan girl sells face masks on a road in Kabul in September.

WASHINGTON -- The United States announced it is providing nearly $144 million in new humanitarian assistance to help stem the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

The aid will be directed to independent humanitarian organizations who provide support to impacted Afghans, including Afghan refugees in neighboring countries, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said in an October 28 statement.

The humanitarian organizations that will receive the U.S. aid provide shelter, essential health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to Afghan and Afghan refugees.

The new aid brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance this year to Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in the region to nearly $474 million.

The Afghan humanitarian crisis erupted as the United States pulled out its armed forces out of the country in August after 20 years of fighting.

The pullout led to the dramatic fall of the Afghan government to the militant Taliban.