Some 339,000 Afghans returned from Iran to Afghanistan in the first 12 days of July alone, bringing the total number of returnees this year to more than 1.1 million, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Tuesday, warning of growing humanitarian pressures at the borders and in already strained communities.
More than 60 percent of those returning are families, and 43 percent are children under the age of 18. The UN spokesman said the rise in unaccompanied and separated children is particularly alarming.
He said that to address the sharp increase in needs, the UN has released $10 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to scale up lifesaving assistance, with a focus on vulnerable groups — especially women and children — as they arrive and begin resettling.
“The new arrivals also bring further pressure on already very vulnerable host communities,” said Dujarric. “Services are already limited and resources scarce in many areas where people are returning.”
Most returnees are continuing on to urban centers, particularly Kabul and cities in western Afghanistan, where they face urgent needs for food, shelter, and medical care, he said.
Since the beginning of the year, nearly 600,000 returnees have received food assistance at the border, and more than half a million have been provided with health support, according to UN humanitarian officials.
But funding remains critically low, he said, adding that as of midyear, Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is less than 25 percent funded, with a shortfall of more than $1.8 billion.
“We need cash, and we need it urgently,” Dujarric said.
