The European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations agency has warned that Afghanistan remains in a state of crisis, with more than 23 million people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
According to the EU agency women and girls, in particular face disproportionate hardships under Taliban rule.
In a video message posted on the social media platform X, the agency expressed deep concern over the growing number of Afghan returnees and the increasing challenges they encounter in accessing aid and basic services.
Gioia Benedetti, a staff member with the EU agency in Afghanistan, said that approximately 4.8 million people are at risk of forced deportation, many from Pakistan and Iran.
“Every day we are witnessing hundreds of families returning from Pakistan and Iran,” she said. “They arrive with few belongings and face dire conditions.”
The agency highlighted the worsening situation for Afghan women and girls, who continue to be denied access to education and employment under Taliban-imposed restrictions.
The warning follows a joint appeal by five UN-affiliated agencies urging urgent action to address Afghanistan’s worsening nutrition crisis. The UN organisations noted that the country ranks among the 15 worst globally for child malnutrition, with four in ten women suffering from undernutrition.
