SIGAR Seal

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Research and Analysis Directorate

63rd Quarterly Report to the United States Congress April 30, 2024Key Issues & Events

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A boy points an air rifle in Kabul in March 2024. The graffiti on the above wall is advertising sewer services. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP)

What the United States is Doing in Afghanistan

Afghan returnees from Pakistan wait at the IOM Transit Center in Kandahar to register for assistance, March 2024. (IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)
Afghan returnees from Pakistan wait at the IOM Transit Center in Kandahar to register for assistance, March 2024. (IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)
Afghan returnees from Pakistan wait at the IOM Transit Center in Kandahar to register for assistance, March 2024. (IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)

The United States remains the largest donor to the Afghan people. Since U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, the United States has appropriated or otherwise made available $17.19 billion in assistance to Afghanistan and to Afghan refugees, as shown in Table I.1. This includes more than $2.80 billion in U.S. appropriations for Afghanistan assistance, largely for humanitarian and development aid, and $3.50 billion transferred to the Afghan Fund intended to protect macro financial stability on behalf of the Afghan people and could, in the long-term, include recapitalizing Afghanistan’s central bank, should the conditions materialize.

In addition, DOD had obligated $5.36 billion in Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA) appropriations and other funds to transport, house, and feed Afghan evacuees through Operation Allies Welcome through September 30, 2023. It also transferred an additional $3.00 billion in OHDACA funds in FY 2023 to State for its management of the whole-of-government successor program, Enduring Welcome. State has employed this funding and other appropriated funds, together totaling $5.53 billion, for ongoing Enduring Welcome programming.

Table I.1 U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan and Afghan Refugees Since August 2021

U.S. Appropriations for Afghanistan Assistance October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2024 1 $2,801,130,000
Department of Defense, Appropriated and Obligated Funds for Operation Allies Welcome through September 30, 2023 2 $5,358,800,000
Department of State, Appropriated and Transferred Funds, Both Obligated and Remaining Available for Obligation, for Enduring Welcome through April 22, 2024 3, 4 $5,533,300,000
U.S.-Authorized Transfers of Afghan Central Bank Assets to the Fund for the Afghan People 5 $3,500,000,000
Total $17,193,230,000

Note: Numbers have been rounded.

1 U.S. government funding appropriated or otherwise made available for all Security, Development, Humanitarian, and Agency Operations accounts as presented in Table F.10, U.S. Appropriations on page 145.

2 DOD, response to SIGAR data call, 4/22/2024. DOD obligations of Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid (OHDACA), Transportation Working Capital Funds and Military Personnel appropriations as of 9/30/2023. DOD transferred $3.00 billion in additional OHDACA funds in two tranches to State in FY 2023. DOD OHDACA supplemental funds for Operation Allies Welcome expired 9/30/2023.

3 State, response to SIGAR data call, 4/24/2024. State has obligated $3.22 billion of the $5.53 billion made available through the $3.00 billion in OHDACA funds transferred from DOD and $2.53 billion in appropriations to its foreign assistance and diplomatic engagement accounts for Enduring Welcome programming through 4/22/2024. All Enduring Welcome funding is available until expended.

4 State obligations do not include Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) funding for Enduring Welcome.

5 Transfer of Da Afghanistan Bank reserves held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to Switzerland-based entity.


The recently enacted Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, mandates creation of a new State appropriation account, Enduring Welcome, for future reporting on Enduring Welcome funding.

As shown in Table I.2, some $1.97 billion of the more than $2.80 billion appropriated for assistance to Afghanistan since the end of FY 2021 has gone toward humanitarian assistance, representing 70% of the total. Another $415 million, or 15% of the total, went to development assistance.

Table I.2 U.S. Appropriations for Afghanistan Assistance October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2024 ($ Millions)

Funding Category FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 Total
Humanitarian $1,077.69 $656.20 $237.88 $1,971.77
Development $217.76 $185.85 $11.33 $414.94
Agency Operations $229.19 $57.41 $27.82 $314.43
Security $100.00 $0.00 $0.00 $100.00
Total $1,624.65 $899.45 $277.03 $2,801.13

Source: SIGAR, Quarterly Report to the United States Congress, 4/30/2024, Appendix A.


In the first two quarters of FY 2024, the U.S. government has committed and obligated more than $233 million to support humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan. USAID obligated much of that funding, over $153 million, this quarter.

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Voices of the Diaspora

Afghan evacuees wait to be processed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, August 2021. (Photo by DOD/Sgt. Isaiah Campbell)

Since the fall of the Afghan government in 2021, SIGAR interviewed 61 members of the Afghan diaspora in the United States and elsewhere about the current situation in Afghanistan, their work in Afghanistan prior to the Taliban takeover, how they departed Afghanistan, and their lives in exile. Collectively, the interviews offer a rare insight into Afghanistan and provide an important voice and perspective to policymakers in the absence of U.S. government personnel on the ground. Many of those interviewed said SIGAR was the first U.S. government agency to contact them since their arrival.

“It’s difficult to talk about Afghanistan. It wasn’t just the city of Kabul; it was a whole nation that fell apart. It’s not the sorrow of one person, it’s the collapse of a society and a system. The loss of a system we fought [for], for 20 years. The words ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ are easy to say, but heavy to attain and we lost them all.”

Former Afghan Army Officer

  • Feelings of Betrayal and Abandonment

    A former Afghan Air Force pilot, who was trained by the United States and fought alongside U.S. forces, said he was ordered to fly an aircraft to Uzbekistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover. Unaware that no prior arrangements had been made with Uzbek air traffic control, he said he was shocked when an Uzbek plane spotted and followed him, ultimately hitting his plane, causing both planes to crash. He said both pilots ejected. Lost in the Uzbek wilderness, the Afghan pilot said he ran for miles, bleeding, and calling for help. “I had to ask several people in the hospital to help me make a phone call to my family to tell them I was alive. I had no money, no documents, everything was left in the plane that crashed,” he said.

  • Afghans Divided Over Humanitarian Assistance and U.S. Engagement

    Afghans SIGAR interviewed were divided over whether the United States should continue giving humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. While they agreed that there is tremendous hunger and need in Afghanistan, some felt that U.S. assistance, however inadvertently, bolsters Taliban rule. A former provincial council member said, “Taliban suicide bombers and [their] families are receiving aid.”

    An Afghan economic development expert saw the absence or drastic decrease in development aid as the primary reason for the challenges Afghans are facing today. He said, “The current U.S. disengagement is not in the U.S. foreign policy interest [because] the U.S. is leaving Afghanistan to its competitors.” He said the United States will have to decide “whether it wants Afghanistan to be more like Iran or more like the Gulf.”

  • Entry Through the Southern Border

    One interviewee said that after living under Taliban rule for six months, where she “lost everything in a matter of months,” she had no choice but to leave the country. Groups of 30-40 Afghans, including adults and children, made the journey across 13 countries from Brazil to the U.S.-Mexico border, using a variety of transportation methods including planes, trains, buses, and by foot. She told SIGAR that she and the other Afghans had to pay bribes to police officers since they entered those countries illegally. She highlighted particularly dangerous routes through a Panamanian forest and Tijuana, Mexico. She said when they crossed the U.S. border in November 2022, they were greeted by a border agent who told them, “Welcome to America.”

  • Challenging Integration into American Communities

    Some Afghans said that women who had resettled were experiencing severe mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts. Unable to speak English, often illiterate, and stuck at home in small apartments with lots of children, they find themselves isolated in the United States.

  • Conclusion

    When SIGAR asked what messages they want to convey to Congress and the American people, Afghans who recently arrived in the United States had two: one about the sorrow and fear they feel about the home they were forced to flee, and another about their struggle to build new lives in the United States. Adding to this sense of urgency, one former Afghan National Army official said, “This catastrophe is increasing, the most concerning issue is the emergence of fundamentalism in Afghanistan.” He said tens of thousands of children are being educated in madrassas instead of public schools. “The more time we lose, the worse it will get. In 10 years, you will face a state that will be dangerous in an unprecedented way.”

Read all “Voices of the Diaspora” stories (PDF)

From Afghanistan to the United States: Resettlement Pathways

Click each group to reveal the pathways.

Path Group 1: Operation Allies Refuge/Operation Allies Welcome/Enduring Welcome
Path Group 2: Independent Pathways

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Recent Developments

An Afghan woman whose husband was murdered in a suicide attack. (UN Women/Sayed Habib Bidell)

International Engagement

UN Secretary-General António Guterres convened a meeting of special representatives for Afghanistan from various UN member states, including the U.S., in Doha, Qatar, February 18–19. Thomas West, U.S. Department of State's Special Representative and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan, and Rina Amiri, U.S. Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls, and Human Rights, attended for the U.S. Participants discussed UN Security Council Resolution 2721, adopted in December 2023, which requests, in part, that Secretary-General Guterres appoint a UN special envoy for Afghanistan. A UN special envoy was not appointed at the Doha meeting. The Taliban have publicly opposed a UN special envoy for Afghanistan. The group showed initial interest in joining the Doha discussions, but ultimately declined when the UN insisted on including Afghan civil society actors, denying the Taliban the opportunity to act as the sole representative for Afghanistan.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres at a press conference in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by UN/Khava Mukhieva)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres at a press conference in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by UN/Khava Mukhieva)
UN Secretary-General António Guterres at a press conference in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by UN/Khava Mukhieva)

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West said, “There remains a strong consensus on collective interests in Afghanistan. No country wants to see emergence of [a] terrorism threat from Afghanistan. All want to see women and girls return to secondary school, university, work, and public life.” On next steps, West said the United States welcomes additional meetings in the same format and supports the UN-led process for Afghanistan’s “full integration” into the international community.

China’s representative to Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, posted on X (formerly Twitter) that China was ready to “enhance engagement with Afghanistan to help for its peace, stability, reconstruction, and common prosperity.” Xiaoyong also noted that during the meetings, China had advocated for unfreezing Afghanistan’s overseas assets and lifting economic sanctions. These remarks followed Beijing’s acceptance of a Taliban diplomatic envoy in January. Like China, Russia has shown limited diplomatic support for Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Moscow accepted a Taliban military attaché, Ahamad Yasir, at Afghanistan’s embassy in March. In February, Azerbaijan announced the reopening of its embassy in Kabul. On March 13, the Taliban announced on X that the acting minister of interior affairs, Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani, met with Uzbekistan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, where they discussed strengthening relations, security, counternarcotics, and regional stability.

In January, the Taliban hosted the “Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative,” an international conference promoting economic connectivity and security with regional countries, the first of its kind since the regime seized power in 2021. Participants included China, Russia, India, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

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Taliban Governance

Afghanistan Ranked Unhappiest Country in the World

Researchers at the Oxford University Wellbeing Research Centre say Afghanistan has become the unhappiest country in the world, across all categories, since the Taliban took over in 2021, according to the latest edition of the World Happiness Report, released in March. Of the 143 countries analyzed, Afghanistan ranked last with an average respondent ranking their life evaluation at just 1.7 out of 10.

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UN Human Rights in Afghanistan Report: Will the Taliban Change?

In February, UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett, reporting on human rights in Afghanistan, stated that some members of the international community are moving toward “acceptance of the inevitability of the situation” and are willing to trade relative security for normalization. Such a trade, the report said, would relieve the Taliban from making progress on its human rights record. Bennett’s report underscored that the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls violates the principles of the UN charter and therefore fundamentally disqualifies the Taliban from being recognized as a government.

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Taliban Leader Defends Stoning and Flogging Women

In a March audio message aired on Afghanistan’s state television, Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada defended the Taliban’s interpretation of sharia law and addressed international critics of the group’s human rights record: “Our mission is to enforce sharia and Allah’s Hudud [law]… You may call it a violation of women’s rights when we publicly stone or flog them for committing adultery because they conflict with your democratic principles. Just as you claim to be striving for the freedom of entire humanity, so do I. I represent Allah, and you represent Satan.” At the end of March, Taliban officials in Faryab and Khost Provinces demonstrated their commitment to Akhundzada’s so-called mission by publicly flogging nine people for adultery and “fleeing from home.”

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Taliban Propose to Restrict or Ban Facebook

In April, Najibullah Haqqani, the Taliban’s minister of telecommunications and information announced a proposal to restrict or block access to Facebook, pending Taliban leadership approval. Haqqani reportedly said it was “in the interest of the nation,” because Afghan youth, allegedly, are too uneducated to use Facebook in a “positive way” and using it “is a waste of time and money.” A Voice of America report citing Statistica, an online statistics database, said Afghanistan has 3.15 million active social media users and Facebook is one of the most popular platforms. U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists urged against the proposed measure saying social media platforms help fill the void of Afghanistan’s media industry which has been heavily censored by the Taliban after seizing power. The Taliban proposal, they said, further restricts the flow of information.

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Afghan women reporters at Radio Killid and Radio Mursal on World Radio Day. (Photo by UNAMA/Tahmina Osta)
Afghan women reporters at Radio Killid and Radio Mursal on World Radio Day. (Photo by UNAMA/Tahmina Osta)
Afghan women reporters at Radio Killid and Radio Mursal on World Radio Day. (Photo by UNAMA/Tahmina Osta)

UN Funding Shortfall

The UN is seeking $3.06 billion for its 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) to assist 17.3 million of an estimated 23.7 million Afghans in dire need. As of April 17, the HRP was 7.7% funded, at $237.1 million. The United States is its single largest funding source, contributing over $80 million this year.

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Kabul Orthopedic manufactures limbs, wheelchairs, and other support devices for victims of war, landmines, and explosive ordinances. (Photo by UNAMA/Abel Kavanagh)
Kabul Orthopedic manufactures limbs, wheelchairs, and other support devices for victims of war, landmines, and explosive ordinances. (Photo by UNAMA/Abel Kavanagh)
Kabul Orthopedic manufactures limbs, wheelchairs, and other support devices for victims of war, landmines, and explosive ordinances. (Photo by UNAMA/Abel Kavanagh)

Taliban Interference in Humanitarian Operations

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) reported 81 incidents of interference in humanitarian activities in February. The UN reported that in 2023, Taliban authorities and security forces were responsible for 95% of the 1,775 access incidents, reflecting “a notable increase in bureaucratic and administrative impediments and restrictions on women aid workers.” As a result, 730 projects were suspended last year, with half of them reactivated after one month.

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Education

Taliban Tightening its Ban on Girl’s Education and Madrassas Increasing

This quarter, the Taliban maintained their nationwide ban on girls attending school or university beyond the sixth grade, while a local Afghan media outlet reported that Kandahar, the home of the regime’s supreme leader, imposed an even more stringent ban preventing girls from attending school past the age of 10 or beyond the third grade. In advance of another Afghan school year that began on March 21, the UN reported that the Taliban issued changes to the public-school curriculum timetable to increase hours for religious teaching for all students. The instructions include the removal of subjects such as civic education, calligraphy, life skills, and foreign languages other than Arabic.

This quarter, the Taliban continued to establish more madrassas, or religious seminaries, bringing the total to 6,836 for males and 380 for females. From November 2023 to February 2024, a Taliban-reported 2,464 students graduated from Taliban-registered madrassas, including 128 female graduates, the first time the regime has reported such figures since seizing control of the country. The Taliban announced that graduates would receive diplomas based on three levels: advanced, intermediate, and beginner. Under the Taliban’s new certification system, students can obtain a religious education certificate equivalent to “Mullah” in eight years.

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Girls and women read the Quran. (Photo by UN Women)
Girls and women read the Quran. (Photo by UN Women)
Girls and women read the Quran. (Photo by UN Women)

Security

Risk of Terrorist Haven

Terror attacks continued to emanate from Afghanistan this quarter amid ongoing U.S., UN, and regional concerns that the country is once again becoming a terrorist haven, despite the Taliban’s counterterrorism commitments in the 2020 Doha Agreement. The Taliban face substantial challenges in “managing competing dimensions of terrorist threat and external pressure,” according to a UN sanctions monitoring team.

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ISIS-K Expands Attacks, Heightens Global Threat

ISIS-K “retains the capability and will to attack U.S. and Western interests abroad in as little as six months and with little to no warning,” General Michael Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in March. IS-K claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack at a Moscow concert hall later in March that killed more than 130 people. The UN reiterated that it considers the group the “greatest threat within Afghanistan, with the ability to project a threat into the region and beyond,” though it does not control any territory in Afghanistan.

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Al Qaeda Deepens Presence in Afghanistan

Despite its weakened operational state, al Qaeda’s general command increased its volume of media products aimed to expand recruitment, demonstrate adaptability, and “restore credibility,” according to a January UN sanctions monitoring team report. The UN team identified up to eight new al Qaeda training camps, one stockpile weapons base, and five madrassas this quarter; the UN also said al Qaeda continued to support other violent extremist organizations in Afghanistan, including TTP, with cross-border attacks and weapons.

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Taliban Announce Female Security Forces Strength

The Taliban reported about 2,000 women in their security forces, half the number in the former Afghan government’s uniformed police force pre-collapse. After the Afghan government’s collapse—and despite increasing restrictions on women—the Taliban began hiring former government female police officers. Afghans who participated in a SIGAR-commissioned informal security assessment said they knew of women joining the Taliban ministry of interior’s criminal investigations and passport departments. Some women in Afghanistan support Taliban policies, despite their perceived antifeminism; other women support the Taliban due to family pressure and economic need, according to the Royal United Services Institute, a UK defense and security think tank.

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SIGAR-Commissioned Assessment of Afghanistan’s Security Situation

This quarter, SIGAR commissioned an informal assessment of Afghan views about the security situation in Afghanistan. Forty-four individuals (36 men and eight women) were interviewed across 14 provinces: Badakhshan, Balkh, Helmand, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khost, Kunar, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Paktiya, Parwan, and Panjshir. These individuals were employed and/or had an active role in society, were considered knowledgeable and aware of the security situation, had at least a high school education, and were not affiliated with the Taliban or other militant organizations. The assessment covered topics ranging from general safety and security in Afghanistan to the recruitment practices of militant organizations.

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Economy

Afghan Fund Update

On January 29, the Afghan Fund’s board of trustees held its fifth meeting. The board reported that the Fund’s assets reached $3.74 billion at the end of December. According to the meeting minutes, the Fund’s board unanimously agreed to pay Afghanistan’s outstanding arrears to the Asian Development Bank, as of the end of December, “as soon as the Fund’s compliance framework is in place and the Fund is disbursement ready.” As this report went to press, the Afghan Fund has not made any disbursements to entities on behalf of Afghanistan.

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Central Bank Asks for U.S. Assistance

This quarter, State told SIGAR that Afghanistan’s Taliban-run central bank, DAB, asked State for “technical assistance to implement best practices for central bank governance, but the U.S. government cannot provide such assistance at this time for legal and policy reasons.”

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U.S. Assistance to Afghanistan

A woman in Bamyan Province spins wool, March 2024. (Photo by UN Women/Omid Begum)

The United States remains the largest donor to programs supporting the Afghan people, disbursing more than $2.98 billion for humanitarian and development assistance since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Following the collapse of the Afghan government, State told SIGAR, “The United States remains committed to facilitating the provision of life saving assistance for all Afghans in need, provided according to humanitarian principles amid the humanitarian crisis. We coordinate with allies, partners, and the international community to do so.”

UN Humanitarian Response Plan Update

In addition to providing direct U.S. assistance to the Afghan people, the United States is also the single largest donor to UN humanitarian programming in Afghanistan. The UN, through its Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), leads international efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance directly to Afghans, including food, shelter, cash, and household supplies. The UN requested $3.06 billion to fund humanitarian activities in 2024. As of April 17, 2024, the HRP was 7.7% funded, at $237.1 million. The United States is its single largest funding source, contributing over $80 million this year.

USAID/BHA supports 17 HRP programs, prioritizing direct food assistance and other avenues to help reduce food insecurity, including by promoting health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene. The total award amount for these programs is more than $803 million.

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USAID Programs in Afghanistan

USAID/Afghanistan continues to fund development activities in Afghanistan through its Office of Social Services (Health and Education), Office of Livelihoods, Office of Democracy, Gender, and Rights, and Office of Program and Policy Development. There are currently 24 active programs in Afghanistan.

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An Afghan girl waits for her family to receive assistance at the Spin Boldak border crossing, March 2024. (Photo by IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)
An Afghan girl waits for her family to receive assistance at the Spin Boldak border crossing, March 2024. (Photo by IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)
An Afghan girl waits for her family to receive assistance at the Spin Boldak border crossing, March 2024. (Photo by IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)

State Department Programs in Afghanistan

The State Department continues to support different programs in Afghanistan in areas such as democracy and human rights, support for refugees and internally displaced people, removing explosive remnants of war, and counternarcotics.

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UNAMA Chief Roza Otunbayeva visits a demining site outside of Kabul. (Photo by UNAMA)
UNAMA Chief Roza Otunbayeva visits a demining site outside of Kabul. (Photo by UNAMA)
UNAMA Chief Roza Otunbayeva visits a demining site outside of Kabul. (Photo by UNAMA)

Department of Defense Programs in Afghanistan

Following the Taliban takeover, U.S. funding obligations of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) ceased, but disbursements to contractors will continue, as necessary, until all Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) obligations incurred prior to the U.S. withdrawal are liquidated.

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SIGAR Oversight Activities

Afghan returnees at a temporary shelter before heading to the IOM Transit Centre in Kandahar, March 2024. (Photo by IOM/Mohammad Osman Azizi)

SIGAR’s work to date has identified approximately $3.97 billion in savings to the U.S. taxpayer.

This quarter, SIGAR’s engagements with USAID and the Swedish Parliament reaffirmed the need to protect implementing partners and beneficiaries, and examine ongoing activities in Afghanistan.

SIGAR issued nine products this quarter, including this quarterly report. SIGAR issued one performance audit report, examining an ongoing economic growth and humanitarian assistance program. SIGAR also completed seven financial audits of U.S.-funded projects in Afghanistan that identified $329,912 in questioned costs as a result of internal-control deficiencies and noncompliance issues by U.S. government contractors.

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Status of SIGAR Recommendations

The Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, requires SIGAR to report on the status of its recommendations. This quarter, SIGAR closed seven recommendations contained in three performance audit, inspection, and financial audit reports. From 2009 through March 2024, SIGAR issued 485 audits, alert letters, and inspection reports, and made 1,365 recommendations to recover funds, improve agency oversight, and increase program effectiveness.

SIGAR has closed 1,253 of these recommendations, about 92%.

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SIGAR Meets with the Swedish and Norwegian Governments

On February 12, 2024, Inspector General John Sopko and Director of Lessons Learned Joseph Windrem spoke at the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) in Stockholm before the All-Party Committee of Inquiry on Sweden’s Engagement in Afghanistan 2001–2021. The Committee is evaluating Sweden’s overall engagement in Afghanistan and aims to determine what lessons can be learned from Sweden’s presence in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021.

Inspector General John Sopko (center left) and Lessons Learned Director Joseph Windrem (far right) meet with the All-Party Committee of Inquiry on Sweden’s Engagement in Afghanistan 2001–2021, 2/12/2024.
Inspector General John Sopko (center left) and Lessons Learned Director Joseph Windrem (far right) meet with the All-Party Committee of Inquiry on Sweden’s Engagement in Afghanistan 2001–2021, 2/12/2024.
Inspector General John Sopko (center left) and Lessons Learned Director Joseph Windrem (far right) meet with the All-Party Committee of Inquiry on Sweden’s Engagement in Afghanistan 2001–2021, 2/12/2024.

IG Sopko described the systemic challenges the United States faced in Afghanistan. These include corruption, unrealistic timelines and expectations, failure to retain qualified personnel, failure to understand Afghanistan and tailor assistance efforts accordingly, and insufficient monitoring and evaluation of U.S. programming. IG Sopko also participated in a question-and-answer session.

IG Sopko and Director Windrem later met with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and shared SIGAR’s lessons learned work and other issues related to peace and security in Afghanistan.

IG Sopko and Director Windrem also met with Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Afghanistan section and discussed Taliban governance and humanitarian affairs.

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SIGAR Letter to USAID

This quarter, IG Sopko and USAID Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia Michael Schiffer exchanged correspondence following a House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia hearing on January 11. Assistant Administrator Schiffer confirmed that no USAID implementing partner has been harmed or put at risk by SIGAR’s reporting. IG Sopko had expressed concern that Assistant Administrator Schiffer’s response during the hearing indicated that he had additional information that could not be discussed publicly. SIGAR and USAID both agreed that the safety of implementer partners and beneficiaries is critical. USAID said it would inform SIGAR immediately should SIGAR reporting put a beneficiary or implementing partner at risk, in addition to committing to providing SIGAR information needed to carry out its mandate.

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Status of Funds

SIGAR’s official seal reflects the coordinated efforts of the United States and the former internationally recognized government of Afghanistan to provide accountability and oversight of reconstruction activities. The phrases in Dari (top) and Pashto (bottom) on the seal are translations of SIGAR’s name.

Status of Funds changed its reporting framework two quarters ago to focus primarily on U.S. funds appropriated, obligated, and disbursed (for purposes defined by SIGAR’s statutory oversight mandate) in the period following the August 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Nevertheless, U.S. funds appropriated and obligated prior to that date continue to play a significant role in current programming for Afghanistan and in the closing of contracts that were obligated for Afghanistan reconstruction. These activities and their associated sources of funding, whether by appropriation before or after August 2021, are examined through expanded coverage of the Afghanistan Funding Pipeline and the Six Largest Active Accounts in the sections that follow.

Appropriated Funds

U.S. funds appropriated to the six largest active accounts, as well as funds appropriated to other assistance and agency operations accounts following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, are presented in Figure F.1.

Figure F.1 U.S. Appropriations Supporting Afghanistan Assistance, FY 2022 to FY 2024 Q1 ($ Billions)

Figure F.1 U.S. Appropriations Supporting Afghanistan Assistance, FY 2022 and FY 2024 Q1 ($ Billions)
Figure F.1 U.S. Appropriations Supporting Afghanistan Assistance, FY 2022 and FY 2024 Q1 ($ Billions)

Numbers have been rounded. Details of accounts are presented in Table F.10, U.S. Appropriations Made Available for Afghanistan Reconstruction and Post-Withdrawal Assistance, FY 2002 to March 31, 2024.

Afghanistan Funding Pipeline

Each quarter, SIGAR examines the amount of funding that Congress has authorized for spending on activities subject to SIGAR oversight that remain available for disbursement at the most recent quarter-end.

Funds remaining available for possible disbursement for any given account consist of two broad components: (1) funds that have been appropriated and allocated to the account for Afghanistan programming, but not yet obligated for these purposes, and (2) funds that have been obligated for Afghanistan programming, but not yet disbursed under the obligated contract (“unliquidated obligations”). Table F.2, Appropriated Funds Remaining Available for Possible Disbursement, presents these two components for each of the six largest active accounts.

Table F.2 Appropriated Funds Remaining Available for Disbursement
Six Largest Active Accounts March 31, 2024 ($ Millions)

Six Largest Active Accounts FY 2020–24 Funds Appropriated, Not Yet Obligated FY 2014–24 Funds Obligated, Not Yet Disbursed Funds Remaining for Possible Disbursement
Afghanistan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) $96.36 $272.24 $368.60
Economic Support Fund (ESF) $95.00 $374.48 $469.48
International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) $2.23 $4.68 $6.90
International Disaster Assistance (IDA) $- $378.81 $378.81
Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) $- $42.52 $42.52
Non-Proliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs (NADR) $4.90 $5.82 $10.73
Total $198.49 $1,078.56 $1,277.04

Note: Numbers have been rounded. Funds remaining available for possible disbursement consist of (1) funds appropriated or otherwise made available for Afghanistan reconstruction, as defined in SIGAR’s enabling statute Pub. L. No. 110-181 (as amended), that remained available for possible obligation; and (2) funds obligated for Afghanistan reconstruction that remained available for possible disbursement (i.e., unliquidated obligations) at March 31, 2024. The ASFF FY 2022 appropriation is available for obligation through FY 2025; the ESF, INCLE, MRA, and NADR appropriations are available for obligation for two years with ESF, INCLE, and NADR availability extendable up to six years under certain conditions through the “reclassification” process defined in the appropriation acts; and after the period of availability for obligation has ended all of these funds are available for disbursement for an additional five years. IDA appropriations are available until expended. Please see Table F.3 through Table F.8 on pages 131–140 for additional details of ASFF, ESF, INCLE, IDA, MRA, and NADR funds remaining for possible disbursement and for the sources of this information.

International Assistance for Afghanistan

The international community has provided significant funding to support Afghanistan relief efforts through multilateral institutions in the period since the U.S. withdrawal. These institutions include United Nations and nongovernmental humanitarian assistance organizations; two special-purpose United Nations organizations, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP); and the World Bank-managed Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF). The Asian Development Bank, which is funded by its members, including the United States, has also contributed to these efforts.

Donors are reported to have contributed nearly $5.92 billion for Afghanistan from January 1, 2022, to March 31, 2024, as shown in Figure F.4. UNAMA and the ARTF have also reported national government contributions of more than $0.59 billion over this period, bringing total contributions to these multilateral institutions operating in Afghanistan to nearly $6.51 billion. The United States has contributed nearly $1.89 billion to these organizations, representing 29% of the total amount.

Figure F.4 Contributions by 10 Largest Donors and Others to Multilateral Institutions (UN OCHA-Reported Organizations, UNAMA and ARTF) in Afghanistan Since 2022 ($ Millions)

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Note: Numbers may not add due to rounding. World Bank contributions to UN agencies in UN OCHA reporting are assumed to be sourced from government donor contributions to the ARTF prior to 2022 and other World Bank funding facilities. The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF) is one of UN OCHA's country-based pooled funds. The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund changed its name to the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF) in July 2023.

Source: World Bank, ARTF: Administrator’s Report on Financial Status, As of February 29, 2024 (for CY 2024) and As of December 31, 2023 (for FY 1401 and FY 1402), accessed at www.wb-artf.org on 4/1/2024; UN OCHA, Financial Tracking Service at https://fts.unocha.org, accessed 3/31/2024; State, UNAMA approved budgets and notified funding plans, in response to SIGAR data calls, 7/13/2022 and 4/19/2023; UN, Country Assessments, at www.un.org/en/ga/contributions/scale, accessed 4/19/2023.

U.S. Appropriations for Afghanistan Reconstruction and Post-Withdrawal Assistance

U.S. appropriations for Afghanistan reconstruction prior to withdrawal spanned the FY 2002 to FY 2021 period and amounted to nearly $144.75 billion. U.S. assistance following the U.S. withdrawal in FY 2022, FY 2023, and FY 2024 through March 31, 2024, has amounted to more than $2.80 billion. The accounts to which U.S. appropriations were made available, and the amounts that were made available in these two periods, are set forth in Table F.10, U.S. Appropriations Made Available for Afghanistan Reconstruction Pre- and Post-Withdrawal as March 31, 2024.

View table F.10 within the report document.
Table F.10 U.S. U.S. Appropriations Made Available for Afghanistan Reconstruction and Post-Withdrawal Assistance FY 2002 to December 31, 2023 ($ Millions)

Note: ASFF appropriated balances do not reflect transfers to the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Trust Fund.

Table F.10 U.S. Appropriations Made Available for Afghanistan Reconstruction and Post-Withdrawal Assistance FY 2002 to December 31, 2023 ($ Millions)

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