News Center- Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been forced to leave their country and sought refuge in Pakistan and Iran in fear of death, imprisonment, poverty and hunger.

Amid a sharp increase in the number of Afghan nationals returning from Pakistan – including 109,891 between 3 April and 3 May, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and partners Tuesday launched an appeal to scale up urgently needed support at border and neighboring areas, where dire conditions and funding shortfalls are compounding risks for the most vulnerable.

The appeal for additional funding by the IOM-led Border Consortium in Afghanistan seeks to address the needs of between 600,000 and 1.5 million Afghan returnees, “most of whom are undocumented driven by the second phase of Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), which is expected to continue triggering large-scale returns in the coming month.”

“Most of the people returning to Afghanistan are in a state of acute vulnerability, having been forced to leave behind their homes, possessions, and jobs.

The most vulnerable of them, especially women and girls, are often separated from their families and they don’t have access to shelter and other essential services,” said Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General for Operations. “At this most fragile time, we appeal to the international community to help us meet these urgent humanitarian needs.”

In April, an average of 3,000 people, mostly women and children, returned per day through key border crossings in Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces, according to the latest IOM data.

‘Equally alarming is the condition of deportees from Iran’

“Equally alarming is the condition of deportees from Iran,” said IOM, stressing that it recorded over 265,000 undocumented Afghan returnees from Iran between January and April, with 75 per cent forcibly returned.

“As the lead agency of the border consortium of humanitarian partners, IOM is prepared to ramp up its response and expand operations at critical entry points.

However, without immediate additional funding, efforts to meet the growing demand and support vulnerable returnees and receiving communities will remain severely constrained,” said Ugochi Daniels.