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| Taliban fighters stand guard outside the entrance of a hospital, Oct. 3. AFP-Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
The state-run overseas aid agency has decided to cut humanitarian aid to Afghanistan for next year by nearly 80 percent due to uncertain conditions there following the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the Taliban's subsequent takeover of the country, according to a lawmaker, Monday.
Rep. Tae Yong-ho of the main opposition People Power Party cited a document submitted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), saying that it had initially planned to provide a total 4.72 billion won ($3.95 million) in 2022 for six official development assistance (ODA) projects, designed to support war-torn Afghanistan. They included fresh water development, vocational training and other capacity-building projects.
However, the budget has been slashed to 1.05 billion won.
Taking a closer look, KOICA planned to spend 1.22 billion won for fresh water development, but this was readjusted to 50 million won, while the budget for technical and vocational education and training also saw a huge cut from 3 billion won to 683 million won.
The aid agency was also supposed to spend 160 million won on improving gender equality and gender mainstreaming, which was reduced to 80 million won.
KOICA said in the document that it will continue to closely monitor the situation and conditions for its projects and follow government policy toward Afghanistan.
"It is necessary to cut aid to Afghanistan, with the Taliban now in control," Tae said. "Humanitarian assistance should be provided in consideration of the diplomatic situation, and the possibilities of implementing potential projects."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was planning to spend 18.3 billion won on the Central Asian country, but the Taliban's brutal human rights violations and "rule by fear" have increased calls for the ministry to reconsider its plan.
