Surge In Afghan Migrants Returns Prompts WHO Call For $2 Million In Aid

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it urgently requires $2 million in funding to continue providing essential health services to returning Afghan migrants over the next three months.

Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional health director, said on Saturday that more than 71,000 Afghan migrants have returned in the past two weeks alone, with over 90 percent entering the country from Iran.

Balkhy warned that health facilities along Afghanistan’s border regions are on the verge of collapse due to the rapid influx of returnees and a critical shortage of resources.

The number of forced returns from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran, has surged dramatically in recent weeks. According to Taliban officials in Herat, more than 30,000 Afghan migrants crossed back from Iran in a single day last week.

Previously, Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), stated that an average of 10,000 Afghans are being deported daily from Iran.