In Afghanistan, families are forced to sell children to survive. Trump’s USAID cuts will be devastating

The dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is a serious blow to the soft power of the United States and disastrous for many poor countries where it helps provide humanitarian, health and educational services.

One country whose citizens will bear the brunt of it is Afghanistan, under the misogynistic and draconian rule of the Taliban.

According to United Nations reports, more than half of Afghanistan’s estimated 40 million population is dependent on international handouts for their survival. Most of the remaining barely earn enough to exist.

USAID has played a critical part in alleviating the suffering of Afhghans since the hasty retreat of the US and its allies from the country and the return of the Taliban to power in mid-2021.

Since then, the United States has been the largest donor of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, amounting to US$3.71 billion (A$5.8 billion), channelled through UN agencies and other international organisations. USAID has been responsible for delivering a large proportion of it.

The effects are already being felt. A major midwifery program has closed, while “secret schools” for girls and the American University of Afghanistan has suspended classes.

US aid, along with help from other donors, has also been critical in keeping mass starvation at bay.

Aid propping up the Taliban

Indeed, not all the aid has directly been delivered to the needy. The Taliban have creamed off a portion of it in the process of permitting and supervising its delivery.

As widely reported, the group has indirectly received some US$40 million (A$63 million) a week of donor funds. The United Nations says it’s unavoidable that some money makes its way to Afghanistan’s central bank, which is under the control of the Taliban.

This aid money, together with US$7 billion (A$11 billion) worth of light and heavy arms left behind by the US and its allies, has been crucial in enabling the Taliban to enforce its extremist rule, despite lacking domestic and international legitimacy.

US President Donald Trump’s objection to the flow of any American aid to the Taliban is well placed. He has criticised the Biden administration for its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and failure to curtail the indirect benefits of American aid to the group.

He has called for an end to American money going to the Taliban and for the return of US military equipment from the group. He has even floated the idea of retaking the strategically important Bagram air base outside Kabul, which he claims is now under Chinese influence.

Further, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who both served in Afghanistan, have vowed to continue to fight terrorism around the world. Waltz believes terrorist groups are regrouping in Afghanistan under the Taliban and the Pentagon may need to send US troops back there.

A halt to any aid that can advantage the Taliban is absolutely imperative. Countering the group is vital to combating violent extremism and terrorism.

Afghans still desperately need aid

However, this effort needs to be managed in ways that do not deprive the needy people of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s economy, industries, reconstruction projects and work opportunities have virtually collapsed, while many schools have been closed or transformed into religious institutions.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that in the last three years, Afghanistan’s economy has contracted by 27%, with staggeringly high unemployment and inflation.

Living conditions are so bad that some families are selling their children in order to feed the rest of the family.

No section of the society is in more desperate need than girls and women, who have been stripped of all their basic rights to education, work and public life. They are not even allowed to speak in public or pray outside the four walls of their homes. As put by actor Meryl Streep, a cat has more freedom than women in Afghanistan.

This has caused a mental health crisis among women in Afghanistan, with rising numbers of suicides.

What can be done?

The disembowelling of USAID will have far-reaching consequences for the people of Afghanistan.

If the Trump administration wants to achieve its anti-Taliban objectives, it needs a two-pronged policy approach:

• identify new ways to continue humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan in ways that don’t benefit the Taliban

• increase pressure on the Taliban by strictly enforcing international sanctions and maintaining its isolation on the international stage.

The suspension of American aid has already resulted in a devaluation of the Afghani currency. This has prompted the Taliban to impose severe restrictions on the transfer of dollars out of the country.

Some analysts predict that if the economy continues to worsen, it will impact the Taliban’s ability to govern.

In turn, this could strengthen civil and armed opposition groups – including the women’s Purple Saturday movement, which stands for a free and legitimately governed Afghanistan. These groups have increasingly become active in different parts of the country.