India Has Sent Record 47,500 MT Wheat To Afghanistan Since Taliban Takeover

In view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation and urgent appeals by the UN agencies, India has continued to supply humanitarian assistance, including medical and food aid for the Afghan people.

India sends wheat to Afghanistan through UNWFP. ( Image Source :Ministry of External Affairs )

India’s wheat donation to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021 reached a record 47,500 MT this month, helping millions living in the remote provinces of Herat, Kandahar and others under extremely poor conditions, with the economy collapsing. India has been sending wheat to Afghanistan through land borders with Pakistan as well as through Iran’s Chabahar Port.

According to official sources, in view of the deteriorating humanitarian situation and urgent appeals by the UN agencies, India continues to supply humanitarian assistance, including medical and food aid, to the Afghan people. The government has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) for the distribution of wheat within Afghanistan.

So far, India has supplied a total of 47,500 MTs of wheat assistance to UNWFP centres in Afghanistan. The recent ongoing shipments are being sent through Chabahar Port and being handed over to UNWFP at Herat in Afghanistan, sources said.

“For the first half of this year, 16 million people in Afghanistan received life-saving food from WFP. We are grateful for generous donors like India who make that happen,” UNWFP said in X (formerly Twitter).

In 2021, India sent wheat and other essential items to Afghanistan for the first time by collaborating with Pakistan. India sent around 25,000 MT of wheat via Pakistan, which was then under the rule of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Although India has not yet recognised the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, New Delhi did reopen its embassy in Kabul in June 2022. The embassy has been primarily focussing on the distribution of humanitarian aid in that country.

Apart from the economic misery due to deteriorating security conditions there, Afghanistan is also facing the wrath of flash floods that has adversely impacted the country’s local farming communities.

200 Tonnes Of Medical Aid 

India has so far supplied almost 200 tonnes of medical assistance consisting of essential medicines, Covid vaccines, anti-TB medicines and medical and surgical items like paediatric stethoscopes, sphygmomanometer mobile type with paediatric BP cuffs, infusion pumps, drip chamber sets, electrocautery, nylon sutures and other such devices.

These items were handed over to authorities of the Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital, Kabul. India has also continued its support for the Habibia School in Kabul and has sent winter clothing and stationery items for primary students. Recently, India also partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) in Afghanistan to provide humanitarian assistance for the welfare of the Afghan drug user population, especially women. Under this partnership, India has supplied 1,100 units of female hygiene kits and blankets and medical assistance to UNODC, Kabul. These items will be used by UNODC in their female drug rehabilitation camps across Afghanistan. India would be providing medical assistance for these rehabilitation camps.