RASC News Agency: Amid an accelerating wave of forced returns from neighboring countries, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has issued an urgent warning regarding a rapidly worsening humanitarian emergency unfolding across Afghanistan. The organization notes that tens of thousands of returnees are being thrust into destitution confronting acute shortages of shelter, food, and medical care, with many at risk of immediate harm. In a statement released on Friday, the 12th of Hamal, the IFRC described the crisis facing returning Afghanistani nationals as “profound and harrowing,” warning that the lives of hundreds of thousands now hang in the balance. According to the Federation, the number of returnees surged dramatically in April, reaching an estimated 145,000 individuals an eightfold increase compared to February. The scale of the influx has overwhelmed already strained infrastructure and depleted emergency reserves.
The living conditions for many returnees are described as appalling. In numerous cases, multiple families are forced to share a single overcrowded tent, lacking even the most basic amenities. This mass return is placing insurmountable pressure on Afghanistan’s crumbling public services, fragile health systems, and overstretched food supply chains systems already debilitated by economic collapse and administrative dysfunction under Taliban control. The crisis is particularly severe for children. The Red Cross has reported a sharp escalation in malnutrition among young returnees and warned that without immediate intervention, the situation could evolve into a full-scale humanitarian disaster. “What we are witnessing is not just a logistical emergency it is a collapse of human dignity,” the IFRC noted grimly.
The Federation disclosed that its initial emergency fund of 750,000 Swiss francs allocated earlier this year is no longer sufficient. To provide adequate humanitarian relief and support over the next two years, the organization now estimates it will require no less than 25 million Swiss francs. These funds are intended to deliver life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable: pregnant women, orphaned children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and displaced families without shelter or access to basic services. As the global community remains largely distracted by other geopolitical flashpoints, thousands of Afghanistani families find themselves abandoned in a state of profound vulnerability. What was once imagined as a homecoming has turned into the onset of another chapter of hardship, uncertainty, and institutional neglect. The IFRC has once again called on international donors and humanitarian partners to respond urgently and decisively before the window for meaningful action closes.
