US to provide additional one million COVID vaccine doses to Afghanistan: Blinken
Jan 19, 2022
Washington [US], January 19 : The United States is committed to providing additional one million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Afghanistan through COVAX, said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
"The United States is fulfilling our commitment to provide this additional 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Afghanistan by delivering 840,000 more doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This donation via #COVAX saves lives and reflects U.S. support of the Afghan people," Blinken tweeted on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the United States earlier announced USD 308 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan.
"The United States is announcing a new contribution of more than USD 308 million in humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan. This brings the total U.S. humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in the region to nearly USD 782 million since October 2021, and we remain the single largest donor of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan," National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement last week.
The Taliban took over control of Kabul on August 15 and following this the country has been battered by deepening economic, humanitarian and security crisis.
A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions on the Taliban, have plunged a country already suffering from high poverty levels into a full-blown economic crisis.
The international community, from governments to non-governmental organizations, has been providing various assistance to the Afghan people.