Most international reports confirm that most Afghans lack public health facilities, and most of them suffer from food shortages and high prices, and electricity does not reach 80% of homes, while the average lifespan is less than 50 years.

Since 2001, Afghanistan's economy has been dependent on international aid, donor conferences, and the Reconstruction Fund. What about the country's 20 years of this aid?

Famine warnings

Although the World Bank provided aid to Afghanistan estimated at about $ 5 billion from 2002 until April 2021, the bulk of which was in the form of grants, the country, which has been exhausted by war for years, is on the verge of starvation.

In early September 2021, a senior UN official warned that food may run out this month in Afghanistan, and this may add a hunger crisis to the challenges facing the Taliban movement, which is now ruling the country and seeks to restore stability after decades of war.

Ramiz Al-Akbarov, Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan, said that it is very important to provide for the humanitarian needs of the people, noting that more than half of the children do not know whether they will eat their dinner or not.

He added that $200 million is needed to cover food needs, and that more than a third of the population (38 million people) are not confident of securing their food needs, noting that the United Nations is seeking to deliver food to 18 million people, but it has obtained half of what is required.

The UN official affirmed their determination to provide basic services to the needy, but the funding is insufficient, and said that they were able to deliver the first plane carrying medical aid to Mazar-i-Sharif, calling for allowing food aid to be delivered to the capital, Kabul.

"Nearly half of the Afghan population, 18 million people, need humanitarian assistance to survive," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.

"One in three Afghans does not know where their next meal will come from," he added, stressing that more than half of children under the age of five will suffer from hunger next year.

Bonn 2001.. Tokyo 2002

- November 27, 2001: An international conference was held in Bonn, Germany, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, where the costs of its reconstruction were estimated at $23 billion for the next 5 years, but the number has recently stabilized at $15 billion.

The sources of the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations estimated the required figure at about 10.2 billion dollars.

January 22, 2002: The first donors' conference was held in Tokyo, where donor countries promised to provide 5.2 billion dollars for the reconstruction of Afghanistan during the period 2002-2006.

60 countries and 20 international organizations participated in the Tokyo Conference.

Donors.. Amount of donation (in millions of dollars)

European Union (500)

Japan (500)

The World Bank (500)

Asian Development Bank (500)

United States (296)

Britain (288)

Saudi Arabia (220)

China (100)

India (100)

Kuwait (30)

Australia (8.8)

- According to the Afghan government's International Aid Coordination Office, $2.6 billion of the $5.2 billion pledged in Tokyo by mid-March 2003 has been delivered.

- $1.8 billion of these funds were spent on reconstruction projects and other urgent humanitarian aid, while only 16% of this aid was delivered to the government treasury.

- The share of construction projects is only 29% of the total disbursed from January 2002 to March 2003, while the share of humanitarian aid was 45%, administrative expenses 6% and 3% for migrants outside Afghanistan.

The per capita share of this aid (2002-2006) was only 42 dollars.

Berlin Conference 2004

April 1, 2004: Donors' conference in Berlin pledges $8.2 billion to help Afghanistan over the next three years.

International donors pledged $4.4 billion for the 2004/05 fiscal year for the reconstruction and cost of Afghanistan's budget.

Kabul announced that it needs $27.5 billion over 7 years to enable it to rebuild a country capable of supporting itself.

- The amount pledged by the international community to pay represents 69% of the target set by Afghanistan.

October 2004: Washington announced the allocation of $3.2 billion to Afghanistan over the last four years, including $1 billion before the end of 2004.

The European Union pledged $732 million over 3 years, while Japan promised $400 million within two years.

London 2006.. Paris 2008

January 31 and February 1, 2006: 66 countries and 15 international organizations participated in the London Conference on Afghanistan, which was chaired at the time by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

- Donor countries and institutions promised to support this process with a total of $10.5 billion.

June 12, 2008: The international community pledged at the Paris conference to provide assistance for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, amounting to about $20 billion, and urged the government to combat corruption and strengthen the rule of law.

The biggest promise came from the United States, which pledged $10.2 billion over two years.

Afghan President (at the time) Karzai presented an ambitious development project at a cost of $50.1 billion over 5 years, focusing on infrastructure, security, education and agriculture.

Karzai called for helping farmers shift their crops away from the opium poppy, of which Afghanistan produces more than 90% of the world's production.

Among the announced shareholders, Japan promised 550 million dollars, Canada 600 million in 3 years, Britain 1.2 billion in 5 years, the World Bank 1.1 billion in 3 years.

- French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the strengthening of aid to Afghanistan, which will more than double, by providing 107 million euros for the period 2008-2010.

Late March 2008: Afghanistan's Aid Coordination Agency published a report revealing that Western countries had not provided more than 15 of the $25 billion in aid they had promised since 2001.

Cable 2010.. Tokyo 2012

July 20, 2010: The International Conference on Afghanistan was held in the capital, Kabul, with the participation of 70 donor countries.

The International Monetary Fund revealed that it had reached a development program for Afghanistan to be financed through a cable loan in the amount of $125 million.

December 5, 2011: The Washington Post says that Afghanistan will remain dependent on global economic aid until 2025, and that it will need at least $10 billion annually to support the police and armed forces after foreign forces leave at the end of 2014.

The newspaper pointed out that the numbers seem large at first glance, but they will be less than the current annual military cost borne by the international community in Afghanistan, which amounts to 140 billion dollars.

July 8, 2012: At the second Tokyo Conference, international donors pledge $16 billion in development assistance to Afghanistan over the next four years.

- The conference was attended by about 80 representatives of countries and organizations who came to discuss the civilian assistance required for this country after the withdrawal of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces scheduled for the end of 2014. Among the meeting are the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

July 28, 2012: Due to the worsening economic difficulties, Rome reduced its aid to Afghanistan by 400,000 euros (492,000 dollars), to reach 5 million euros (6.1 million dollars), and Madrid reduced its financial support by millions of euros.

Since 2005, Italy has contributed 36 million euros ($44.3 million) in aid to finance development projects in Afghanistan, and Spain has provided 226 million euros ($278 million) since 2006.

Brussels 2016.. and a virtual conference 2020

October 5, 2016: The donors’ conference for Afghanistan was concluded in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and the participants promised to provide $15.2 billion to advance the economy of this country over a period of 3 years, starting from 2017.

More than 70 governments at the donor conference, led by Washington and the European Union, promised $15.2 billion in financial support for Kabul.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said member states are committed to providing 2.1 billion euros ($2.3 billion) in aid to Afghanistan annually for the period 2017-2020.

November 6, 2020: The International Monetary Fund approved a 42-month aid program for Afghanistan, with a total value of $370 million, the first installment of which was immediately paid, amounting to $115 million.

November 24, 2020: The international community - a large part of which met online due to the Corona epidemic - promised to allocate an amount of up to 12 billion dollars to help Afghanistan until the year 2024, provided that democratic gains are preserved, especially those related to women's rights, and demanded a halt to immediate firing.

Finnish Cooperation Minister Willi Skinari, one of the organizers of the donor conference with the United Nations and Afghan authorities, announced that “donors have promised to disburse more than $3 billion for the first year of the next four-year plan” from 2021 to 2024 “with annual pledges expected to remain at the same level year after year.” year, with a cumulative amount of 12 billion over 4 years.

Early June 2021: The Fund paid the second tranche of the aid program for Afghanistan, amounting to 149.4 million dollars.

August 18, 2021: The Fund announced the suspension of aid for the third and final batch of $ 105.6 million due to the uncertainty surrounding the status of leaders in Kabul after the Taliban movement took control of the country.

Air bridge.. relief aid

September 7, 2021: A Qatari plane arrived at Kabul International Airport carrying urgent relief aid to the Afghan people, provided by Qatar Charity and the Qatar Red Crescent, with the aim of providing the urgently necessary needs.

- The Qatari ambassador in Kabul, Saeed bin Mubarak Al-Khayarin, said that the arrival of this plane comes within an air bridge that will continue in the coming days.