South Asia · Critical · since 2021
Afghanistan
21.9 million people in need — 45% of the country.
Post-conflict economic collapse and mass forced returns
21.9M
People in need
OCHA HNRP 2026
45%
Share of population
OCHA, Dec 2025
2.7M
Projected returnees
Apr–Dec 2026, UN RPAR
Banned
Girls in secondary school
Nationwide since 2021
What is happening
Fighting has largely stopped, but the humanitarian emergency has not. Almost half the population needs assistance amid a collapsed economy and frozen public services.
Nearly 2.7 million people are projected to return from Pakistan and Iran between April and December 2026, arriving into communities with no capacity to absorb them.
What we don't think about
Returned to nowhere
Families deported after decades abroad arrive at the border with no home village to return to and no Afghan documents.
Girls locked out of the future
An entire cohort of girls has now been out of secondary school for years, with community-based learning the only remaining route.
Winter at altitude
In highland provinces, sub-zero winters turn inadequate shelter into a cause of death, particularly for infants.