Afghanistan
- Population: 41.7 million
- People in Need: 24 million
Our Impact
- People Helped Last Year: 1,291,830
- Our Team: 932 employees
- Program Start: 1980
Over 700,000 People Have Been Forced to Flee
After more than 10 years of calling Pakistan home, Jan Mohammad was forced to leave in only hours. His entire family was expelled with little warning and driven back to Afghanistan.
Now, he must start from scratch. “In Pakistan, I used to work as a construction worker and gardener, which was enough to support my family,” he said. “After being deported [to Afghanistan], we have been living in ruins and sometimes at people’s places. Now we are constantly on the move like migrants, and our entire life has been trapped in this reality.”
Sayed Rahman for Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger is supporting families in Helmand with cash assistance.
Jan Mohammad’s story is just one of thousands of Afghan voices that go unheard. These returnees face a daily struggle for survival — most cannot put enough food on the table. Jan and many others are navigating the harsh realities of displacement with little to no support.
Over the last year, over 700,000 Afghans have been forced to leave their homes in Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, or other countries in the region and made to return to Afghanistan. The deportations, which started Sep. 13, 2023, have left thousands of men, women, and children in dire situations.
Crisis in Afghanistan
After several decades of conflict, natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought, and epidemics, humanitarian needs have increased exponentially in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban took control, the country plunged into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis, with more than half of the population facing a food crisis.
Stripped of their homes and livelihoods, returnees like Jan are now grappling with extreme poverty, limited access to necessities and Taliban’s severe laws against women. Most are living in temporary settlements or sleep in unsafe conditions. Beyond physical hardships, the deportees have experienced the trauma of seeing their lives uprooted in hours, leading to heightened anxiety, depression, and despair. With no stability or place to call home, mental health needs are growing.
Since leaving Pakistan, Jan and his family have been trying to adapt to the unfamiliar environment. It hasn’t been easy. They still have no place to call home.
Sayed Rahman for Action Against Hunger
Action Against Hunger supports fathers like Jan Mohammad and ensures that they’re able to buy food and necessities.
Action Against Hunger has been providing cash assistance to Jan and other families.
“This aid has saved us so that I could buy peas, rice and potatoes,” he said. “However, we live in tents, and we are in critical need of appropriate housing. There is nothing to do here, I cannot find any job.”
Other nearby returnees face a similar crisis. About 200 families were initially housed in a temporary camp on the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, while others had to find housing with relatives or rent on their own. With colder temperatures on their way, times will only get harder, and Jan and many others will face a grueling winter.
Our Work in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, Action Against Hunger takes a holistic approach to treating and preventing malnutrition and other health challenges facing young children, pregnant women, and new mothers. In recent years, we have scaled up our work to reach even more people in need as a result of conflicts and natural disasters.
Sayed Rahman for Action Against Hunger
A young boy waits for treatment at a Therapeutic Feeding Unit in Helmand, Afghanistan.
The temporary halt of deportations announced in July is an important step forward, but it must be made permanent in respect of humanitarian law. Despite calls to the international community to step up support for Afghanistan, the plight of these vulnerable communities remains largely unresolved.
About Action Against Hunger in Afghanistan
Action Against Hunger has been working in Afghanistan in 1980. In the bordering province of Helmand, which has hosted many returnees, our teams are responding to urgent needs. We’re also treating and preventing malnutrition, especially for women and children.
In Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, our teams are providing cash assistance to families expelled from Pakistan. To date, our teams have provided assistance to 4,200 Afghan returnees.
