The European Union announced it is doubling its emergency humanitarian support for Afghanistan, increasing its funding for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) from €250,000 to €500,000.
The move comes as tens of thousands of Afghans, many of them forcibly returned from Pakistan, face rising hardship and uncertainty. EU officials say the additional funding will help address critical needs, including shelter, healthcare, food, and access to clean water.
“With so many families arriving back in Afghanistan with nothing, the need for emergency support is acute,” the EU Humanitarian Aid office in the Asia-Pacific region said in a statement.
The aid boost is intended to support the IFRC’s ongoing emergency response, which has been stretched by the rapid influx of returnees. Many of those arriving report inadequate access to basic services and growing poverty in host communities ill-equipped to absorb them.
The EU is among several international donors expressing concern about the humanitarian fallout from mass deportations and the continued economic crisis in Afghanistan, where more than 28 million people are estimated to need humanitarian assistance this year.
