WASHINGTON, March 2, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The World Bank on Tuesday announced
more than $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Afghanistan, stating the money
will go to UN agencies and international NGOs while remaining "outside the
control" of the country's Taliban rulers.

   The reallocation from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF)
follows the $280 million in ARTF funds disbursed last December, and is aimed
at supporting the humanitarian response over the critical winter months.

   The funds, to be delivered in the form of grants, aim "to support the
delivery of essential basic services, protect vulnerable Afghans, help
preserve human capital and key economic and social services and reduce the
need for humanitarian assistance in the future," the Washington-based lender
said in a statement.

   The bank suspended its aid to Kabul late last August after the hardline
Islamist Taliban swept back into power.

   ARTF is a multi-donor fund that coordinates international aid to improve
the lives of millions of Afghans. It is administered by the World Bank on
behalf of donor partners.

   Until the Taliban took over, the ARTF was the largest source of
development funding for Afghanistan, financing up to 30 percent of the
government's budget.

   Because the World Bank is unable to provide money directly to the Taliban
regime -- which is not recognized by the international community -- it has
redirected the funds to organizations like UN childrens agency UNICEF in
response to the humanitarian crisis.

   Afghanistan's population has faced food shortages and mounting poverty
since the Taliban took over.

   The objective of the new aid is to "protect vulnerable Afghans (and) help
preserve human capital and key economic and social services," the World Bank
said.