WASHINGTON — The US State Department on Tuesday confirmed that the United States has suspended a number of food assistance programs in Afghanistan amid concerns that the aid was being diverted to benefit the Taliban.
Tammy Bruce, speaking at a department press briefing, said the decision followed intelligence assessments and long-standing concerns about Taliban interference with humanitarian operations. She emphasized that the move was part of a broader review of aid distribution in high-risk areas, where evidence suggested that funds and resources might be enriching sanctioned groups.
“These concerns with U.N. funding have been documented and discussed for years,” Ms. Bruce said, adding that USAID has intermittently paused food assistance in Afghanistan through the World Food Program to prevent abuse and ensure aid reaches intended recipients.
According to Bruce, a SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) report found that at least $11 million in food aid may have been siphoned to the Taliban, reinforcing the administration’s decision to act.
Despite the suspensions, Bruce maintained that the United States’ commitment to global food aid remains strong. She said 85 percent of USAID’s programs with the World Food Program worldwide are still active.
“It is inaccurate, as some have intimated, that USAID has defunded the World Food Program,” she said. “That is not true.”
She added that some programs, particularly those involving cash-based assistance, have been phased out due to accountability concerns, but that the overwhelming majority of food aid programs remain intact.
“We have terminated a limited number of World Food Program programs based on specific country or program-level priorities. But what is the story here is that the largest group of World Food Program awards terminated were in Yemen and Afghanistan through an executive order that was issued, based on concern that the funding was benefiting terrorist groups, including the Houthis and the Taliban,” she said.
While most of the terminations affected operations in Afghanistan and Yemen, Bruce noted that “a few” programs in other countries were also cut, though she did not specify which ones.
