Nearly a week after an earthquake killed over 2,200 people and left tens of thousands homeless in Afghanistan, the United States has yet to take the first step to authorize emergency aid. According to two former senior US officials and a source familiar with the situation, it remains unclear if the Trump administration plans to help at all.
The lack of response from Washington highlights how President Donald Trump’s deep foreign aid cuts and the closure of the main US foreign assistance agency have forfeited decades of US leadership in global disaster relief. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) was officially shuttered on Tuesday.
While the State Department extended “heartfelt condolences” to Afghanistan in a post on X on Monday, as of Friday, it had not approved a declaration of humanitarian need, which is the initial step for authorizing US emergency relief. Such a declaration is typically issued within 24 hours of a major disaster.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that State Department officials had considered recommendations for US disaster aid. One former senior official stated that the White House had also considered the issue but decided against reversing its policy of ending aid to Afghanistan.
When asked if the US would provide emergency aid following the magnitude 6 quake, which was followed by powerful aftershocks, a State Department spokesperson said, “We have nothing further to announce at this time.”
Until this year, the United States was the largest aid donor to Afghanistan, where it fought a 20-year war that ended with a chaotic US withdrawal and the Taliban’s seizure of Kabul in 2021. However, in April, the Trump administration ended nearly all aid—totaling $562 million—to Afghanistan, citing a US watchdog report that humanitarian groups receiving US funds had paid $10.9 million in taxes, fees, and duties to the Taliban.
When asked whether the US would provide emergency relief, a White House official stated, “President Trump has been consistent in ensuring aid does not land in the hands of the Taliban regime, which continues to wrongfully detain US citizens.”
‘Stuck in Storage’
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said the Afghan earthquake was “the latest crisis to expose the cost of shrinking resources on vital humanitarian work.” In a statement on Thursday, he added, “Massive funding cuts have already brought essential health and nutrition services for millions to a halt; grounded aircraft, which are often the only lifeline to remote communities; and forced aid agencies to reduce their footprint.”
The Trump administration has also not yet responded to a request from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to send $105,000 worth of US-funded medical supplies following the first earthquake. The materials include stethoscopes, first aid supplies, stretchers, and other essentials, said Kelly Razzouk, vice president of policy and advocacy for the IRC.
“The stocks are stuck in storage,” said Razzouk, who served on former US President Joe Biden’s National Security Council. “In recent memory, I can’t remember a time when the US did not respond to a crisis like this.” The IRC needs Washington’s permission to send the equipment because it was funded by an unrelated US grant that the Trump administration has since canceled.
Stephen Rodriguez, the representative in Afghanistan for the UN Development Programme, told reporters on Friday, “Beyond the loss of life, we have also seen basic infrastructure and livelihoods destroyed.” He added that donations of money, goods, and services have come from Britain, South Korea, Australia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, and other countries. “Far more is needed.”
