Direct Aid to Afghan Women

The abrupt international withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 sparked an economic crisis. The UNDP estimated that an astonishing 97% of Afghans are at risk of falling beneath the poverty line, fueling hunger, malnutrition, and increased migration borne of desperation. Survey data collected during initial pilots for the proposed project paint a similarly dire picture: respondents report an average monthly income of 12.50 USD and living off of only bread and tea for an average of five days a week. We propose an evaluation of a direct digital payment system. The fundamental goal is to provide humanitarian assistance directly using a modality that is not easily captured by the Taliban. Our team has secured funding to provide transfers to 2,500 Afghan women for four months and, based on three small pilots to date, believe this method of humanitarian assistance delivery warrants RCT evaluation. Our hope is to provide proof-of-concept for a means of delivering humanitarian assistance to those in need who live under regimes that western donors seek to avoid entrenching.