On Friday, November 9, 2001, the U.S. through the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration contributed an additional $4 million of the $320 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan announced by President Bush October 4, 2001. To date, $128.6 million is the total amount of U.S. Government funds obligated for the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Of those funds the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration has obligated $36.6 million.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will receive an additional $2 million to undertake measures focused on shelter, food and clean water in Afghanistan. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will also receive $2 million in support of its appeal for prevention programs to assist Afghan refugees in neighboring countries in the areas of health and nutrition, water and environmental sanitation, education and child protection in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has faced years of humanitarian challenges including a drought and civil war. The U.S.'s highest humanitarian priority is to ensure that the millions of people who are suffering in Afghanistan have sufficient food and shelter through the winter.

The United States also believes that humanitarian assistance for refugees, displaced persons, conflict victims, and other persons at risk and the pursuit of solutions for humanitarian crises are a shared international responsibility. We call on other donors to be generous in their response to the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan.