US Denies $25 Million Grant, Stranding 1,000 Students at Afghan University

The United States has withheld a $25 million grant to the American University of Afghanistan, removing the financial backbone for an institution that serves approximately 1,000 students. The State Department confirmed the decision this week, citing a long history of accounting issues that make it difficult to track how taxpayer dollars were spent. For the student body, which is roughly 75 percent women, the cut eliminates the primary source of operational support.

The dispute over the university’s finances began in 2016 when US inspectors opened an investigation into its books. By 2018, federal auditors reported that poor record-keeping made it impossible to verify how aid funds were used. John Sopko, a former federal inspector general who oversaw the probe, stated that the continued funding of the university surprised him given the audit findings. "I was surprised they were still funding AUAF," Sopko said.

The university was established in 2006 with initial support from the Bush administration. Laura Bush, then the first lady, announced the US commitment to the project, framing it as a way to train future leaders in a young democracy. Patrick Fine, who served as the Afghanistan mission director for USAID at the time, noted that some agency staff viewed the project as risky. He later defended the university as a worthy investment, arguing that previous audits found compliance struggles but "didn't find major fraud." Fine characterized the State Department’s reasoning as "smear tactics."

The American University of Afghanistan has relied heavily on US aid, which covered nearly 90 percent of its costs according to a 2018 report. The State Department told Deutsche Welle that the funding halt reflects the university's "history of repeated lack of accountability for millions of American taxpayer dollars." While the department said the university is free to find other partners, the loss of the $25 million grant leaves its operational future uncertain.

Students are now navigating the fallout in a country where the Taliban controls the campus. Laila, a political science student in her mid-twenties, learned of the funding cut via email. She and her classmates attend online lectures from home, often using aliases and keeping cameras off to avoid detection. "I just know their voices," she said. She fears that Taliban authorities, who have searched her home multiple times, could find university correspondence on her phone.

Laila enrolled at the university after the Taliban banned women’s education in December 2022, leaving her degree from a previous institution unfinished. She won a scholarship to start over, a chance she believes not every student received. "Not every girl got that opportunity," she said. The university’s uncertain financial status now threatens to pause her progress again, forcing her to consider a longer timeline for completing her education.

The State Department has not announced a specific date for the transfer of funds or a final termination letter, but the withholding of the $25 million grant marks a decisive break in the relationship. The university currently has no announced alternative funding source to replace the US contribution. For Laila and her peers, the immediate challenge is maintaining their enrollment while the institution seeks new financial support.