The UK government has been accused of turning its back on the people of Afghanistan after an official watchdog said UK aid to the nation has more than halved.
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) said the UK was expected to provide 100 million dollars (125 million dollars) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan in 2023-24.
Comparing it with 246 million euros in the previous year.
The watchdogโs latest review of UK funding since the Taliban takeover in 2021, said the sharp fall followed successive cuts to Britainโs aid budget.
The watchdog advised against the use of a substantial amount of it on housing refugees in the UK.
The ICAI noted the UK had been an โactive and significant donorโโ to Afghanistan, promising 286 million euro in aid per year for 2021-22 and 2022-23.
But the allocation for 2022-23 was later slashed to 246 million euros, which the watchdog said resulted in programmes for polio vaccinations and the clearance of landmines and improvised explosive devices being halted or delayed.
ICAI commissioner, Sir Hugh Bayley, who led the report, said: โAs the humanitarian situation continues to worsen in Afghanistan, and women and girlsโ hard-won rights are being lost.
โWe felt it was important to look again at how the UK is supporting the people of Afghanistan through the aid programme.
โWhile the UK has played an important role in the international aid response since the Taliban takeover.
โOur information note shows that the reduction in UK aid funding has led to programmes that directly benefited Afghan people being stopped or postponed.โโ
It also highlighted the lack of a UK diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, which might undermine the effective management of the UKโs contribution to the international aid response.โโ
Stephanie Draper, chief executive at Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said: โThe UK is turning its back on the people of Afghanistan, who are facing a worsening humanitarian crisis.
โCuts to programmes in the country mean the government has abandoned women and girls at a time when their rights are deteriorating.
โReallocating such a huge proportion of UK aid to cover in-country refugee costs has meant the UK is less able to respond and allocate funding to humanitarian crises.
โIt undermines the purpose of UK aid and puts our global credibility on UK aid at risk.
โThe Government must deliver on its commitment to the Afghan people, by reversing cuts to programmes in the country.โโ
Preet Kaur Gill, Labourโs shadow cabinet minister for international development, said: โThis report paints a stark vision for the future for Afghanistanโs people, and Britainโs waning influence in the world.
โToday famine looms over the country, while millions of women are denied their basic rights.
โIt is farcical and a betrayal of the Afghans who supported the allied mission that this Government is cutting lifesaving support for them, to prop up its failing asylum system.โโ (dpa/NAN)