Urgent Warning: Over 1.4M Afghan Returnees Push Crisis to Breaking Point

Kokcha News Agency reports that the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has issued an urgent warning regarding the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. According to the NRC, the surge in Afghan returnees—more than 1.4 million from Iran and Pakistan—is pushing the country’s already strained support infrastructure beyond its capacity.

Citing UNHCR data, the NRC highlighted a dramatic increase in daily returns, especially after June 13, with a peak on July 1 when over 43,000 returnees were registered in a single day. This influx is severely stressing border provinces like Herat and Nangarhar, which are struggling to cope with limited resources and underfunded aid programs.

Jacopo Caridi, NRC’s Afghanistan Country Director, explained that families are arriving exhausted, distressed, and often with no possessions or legal documents. Many of these families have no access to essential services such as food, shelter, clean water, healthcare, or education, forcing some to sleep in open areas or overcrowded shelters. Local clinics are overwhelmed by demand, and immediate needs remain unmet.

The NRC warns that if current return rates persist, the number of returnees could surpass three million by the end of 2025, further intensifying humanitarian challenges. They emphasize that conditions in Afghanistan do not meet international safety and sustainability standards, and call for a halt to involuntary returns.

Caridi urged the international community to increase support, warning that the burden should not primarily fall on Afghan authorities and aid groups alone. “Both returnees and host communities urgently need assistance to prevent suffering and instability,” he said.

This warning echoes similar outlooks from other humanitarian agencies, including the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which projects an additional one million returnees by year’s end. Yet, their emergency appeal for $31 million remains underfunded, receiving less than 10% of the needed amount.

The Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation admits it lacks sufficient capacity to handle this crisis without external aid. Limited resources have led authorities to coordinate with NGOs for temporary border reception centers, though these remain under-resourced.

The situation is further complicated by ongoing economic decline, sanctions, and reduced international aid since the Taliban’s return in August 2021, severely impacting Afghanistan’s economy and social stability. NRC continues to call for increased burden-sharing internationally, especially support for Iran and Pakistan, who have hosted Afghan refugees for decades. Without coordinated, well-funded action, experts warn that the crisis will deepen, jeopardizing the stability of both the host communities and Afghanistan as a whole.