Under the Lead Inspector General framework, the Inspectors General for the Department of Defense, Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development conduct oversight of and report on the overseas contingency operation "Operation Freedom's Sentinel."
This quarter, U.S. forces sought to exert military pressure on the Taliban in an attempt to set favorable conditions for a return to peace negotiations. The Taliban continued its “fight and talk” strategy, conducting an elevated number of attacks while simultaneously pursuing a potential peace agreement with the U.S. Government.
According to USAID, it has spent more than $1.3 billion in Afghanistan for health programming since 2003. Since 2011, the Afghan government tripled governmental health expenditures and doubled per capita health spending. However, healthcare gains, such as increased access and significant declines in maternal and child mortality rates, may not be sustainable because a large proportion of health programs in Afghanistan are highly dependent on international grants, according to USAID. Currently, more than 70 percent of the healthcare facilities in Afghanistan are supported by donor nation funding from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. In spite of increasing health expenditures, the Afghan government only funds 3 percent of total health expenditures.