Returning to uncertainty: The situation of Afghan returnees - INTERSOS Advocacy Brief (April 2026)

INTERSOS calls for urgent action to address the growing needs of Afghan returnees.

INTERSOS has released a new Advocacy Brief on the situation of Afghan returnees, urging donors and all those involved in the response to take immediate steps to protect millions of Afghans currently facing multiple levels of challenges. Drawing on first-hand experience from its programmes across seven provinces, INTERSOS highlights both the scale of the crisis and the urgent need for sustained international engagement.

Over the past three years, more than five million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries, mainly Iran and Pakistan. Many were compelled to leave due to increasingly precarious legal status and arrived in Afghanistan with little or nothing. They are now returning to a country where nearly half of the population requires humanitarian assistance.

The Advocacy Brief highlights the urgent needs of returnees through their direct testimonies. Families arriving at border crossings face immediate shortages of healthcare, food, water, shelter, and protection. While some emergency assistance is available, support remains short-term and insufficient. Once beyond border areas, returnees encounter widespread poverty, limited services, and scarce livelihood opportunities, making reintegration extremely difficult.

“Many of the families we meet arrive exhausted and disoriented, with no clear idea of how they will resettle once they leave the border area,” said Maher Alshoun, Country Director for INTERSOS in Afghanistan. He added, “Humanitarian support is critical, but without longer-term assistance to support essential services, shelter, and livelihood opportunities, returnees risk falling into deeper poverty and instability.”

Present in Afghanistan since 2001, INTERSOS operates across seven provinces, delivering integrated health, nutrition, and protection services to local communities, including returnees, through a network of health facilities. In 2025, the organisation expanded its response in key return areas such as Kandahar, Nimruz, Herat, and Helmand.

This brief calls for renewed and principled engagement from the international community, including increased humanitarian funding, targeted development assistance, and strengthened cross-border support. It also urges all states, especially neighbouring countries and European governments, to recognise that conditions in Afghanistan are not conducive for safe and dignified returns and that protecting people on the move, and supporting their ability to rebuild their lives, is both a humanitarian imperative and a shared responsibility.

Read the Advocacy Brief to consult the full list of recommendations. Download below or at the link here. ⬇️

Learn more: https://www.intersos.org/en/returnee-crisis-afghanistan/