This quarterly report submitted by the Lead Inspector General (Lead IG) report to Congress on Operation Enduring Sentinel (OES). This report discharges our quarterly reporting responsibilities pursuant to Section 419 of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. In October 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD) initiated OES as the U.S. mission to conduct over-the-horizon counterterrorism operations against threats emanating from Afghanistan and to engage with Central Asian and South Asian regional partners to combat terrorism and promote regional stability.
This quarterly report describes the activities of the U.S. Government in support of OES, as well as the work of the DoD, the Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to further the U.S. Government’s policy goals in Afghanistan during the period of January 1 through March 31, 2024. This report also discusses the planned, ongoing, and completed oversight work conducted by the Lead IG agencies—the DoD, State, and USAID OIGs—and our partner oversight agencies.
USAID-funded programs provided emergency shelter assistance, water, sanitation, and emergency relief supplies, such as kits with blankets, family tents, shelter repair tools, and other supplies. The United States continued to be the leading donor of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, contributing more than $2 billion since August 2021. USAID obligated over $66 million in humanitarian funding for the Afghanistan response in FY 2024. WFP has received $150 million in funding from USAID during this quarter. USAID implementers continued to respond to populations impacted by the earthquakes in Herat province in October of last year.
Taliban restrictions on women continue to challenge aid organizations. USAID has four activities (total award amount of $171 million) that support girls’ education in Afghanistan, including three activities that focus on higher education. USAID implementers adjust to continue work under Taliban decrees. USAID continued to work toward reducing under-nutrition among women and children through two bilateral awards: Assistance for Families and Indigent Afghans to Thrive and the Urban Health Initiative. In 249 USAID-supported rural health facilities and 910 health posts (across 14 provinces), 1,323,214 children reportedly received growth monitoring/infant and young child feeding services. USAID’s Emergency Shelter-Non Food Items Cluster reached nearly 16,700 earthquake-affected households with shelter assistance and provided more than 21,000 households with emergency relief supplies such as blankets and winter clothing, as well as heating and fuel support in January.
During the quarter, the DoD OIG hotline investigator received two allegations related to OES and referred one case to Lead IG agencies and other investigative organizations. State OIG received nine allegations and referred no cases, and USAID OIG received 41 allegations.
View the Full Report and Report in Brief.