The World Bank has put four projects in Afghanistan worth $600 million on hold amid concerns over a decision by the country's ruling Islamist leaders to ban girls from returning to public high schools, the bank said.
The projects, to be funded under the revamped Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, were being readied for implementation by United Nations agencies to support projects in agriculture, education, health, and livelihoods.
As a result, the bank said, the four projects will be presented to ARTF donors for approval only"when the World Bank and international partners have a better understanding of the situation and confidence that the goals of the projects can be met". It was not immediately clear when that could occur. The executive board of the World Bank on 1 March approved a plan to use more than $1 billion from the ARTF fund to finance urgently needed education, agriculture, health and family programs that would bypass sanctioned Taliban authorities and disburse the money through UN agencies and aid groups.
Foreign governments also ended financial aid comprising over 70% of government expenditures, accelerating the country's economic collapse.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Young lives changed by the Standard Bank Tutuwa Community FoundationSPONSORED | Learners speak out about the challenges presented by SA’s unequal education system and how they’ve benefitted from the foundation’s schooling initiatives
Read more »
Absa Bank appoints Arrie Rautenbach as new CEO, ending leadership vacuumArrie Rautenbach, who heads bank’s retail and business banking unit, will assume new job immediately
Read more »
THE FINANCE GHOST: Why you can bank on SAOur growth may be nowhere, but underestimate SA’s banking assets at your peril, writes FinanceGhost.
Read more »
SA Reserve Bank spurns 'heads you win, tails we lose' QE | Fin24The Reserve Bank is opposed to buying government bonds during an economic crisis because doing so would amount to bailing out investors who were paid generous yields to hold long-term debt.
Read more »
THE FINANCE GHOST: Why you can bank on SAOur growth may be nowhere, but underestimate SA’s banking assets at your peril, writes FinanceGhost.
Read more »
Yen tumbles to 7-year low as Bank of Japan diverges further from FedBOJ continues to ease monetary policy aggressively, diverging from Federal Reserve
Read more »