Since the beginning of 2025, over 100,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Pakistan. Projections indicate that approximately 1,604,356 undocumented returnees are expected from Pakistan throughout 2025, in addition to an estimated 2 million returnees from Iran.
We are actively addressing the humanitarian needs of individuals returning from Pakistan via the southern border crossing of Spin Boldak, specifically by working within the Kandahar Transit Camp.
The situation of displaced persons in Afghanistan represents one of the most intricate crises in recent history, shaped by decades of conflict, environmental disasters, and societal upheaval. Currently, nearly 9 million Afghans are refugees in other countries, primarily Iran and Pakistan, with many more internally displaced within Afghanistan’s provinces. These figures continue to escalate due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Recent developments underscore how regional instability persistently impacts the challenges related to displacement in Afghanistan.
From January 1 to April 19, 2025, a total of 94,500 Afghans returned to their home country, with 25,400 of them crossing through the Spin Boldak border.
Since April 2025, thousands more Afghan returnees have re-entered the country via the Spin Boldak border crossing and subsequently reached Kandahar. The rapid and massive influx of returnees has overwhelmed border and transit services, with families arriving in urgent need of basic necessities such as potable water, healthcare, shelter, mental health support, and other survival items. As projected, approximately 1,604,356 undocumented returnees are expected from Pakistan in 2025, while around 2,000,000 returnees are anticipated from Iran, further straining Afghanistan’s already limited resources.
As tensions persist, so does the risk of increased returns, raising significant concerns about Afghanistan’s capacity to sustain and reintegrate its displaced populations.
INTERSOS’s Commitment
INTERSOS has swiftly responded to the humanitarian needs of individuals returning through the southern border crossing, particularly at the Kandahar Transit Center. With funding from the European Union, INTERSOS has provided integrated assistance in health, nutrition, psychological first aid, and economic support to ensure that repatriated families can meet their basic needs.
Between mid-April and mid-May 2025, 1,102 people (415 males and 687 females) received general health consultations for communicable and non-communicable diseases, as well as mental health issues. Additionally, 685 households received economic assistance, enabling them to manage their urgent needs with dignity. As part of our nutrition-focused activities, we screened 143 children under five and 112 pregnant and lactating women for malnutrition.
Ongoing Response at Kandahar Transit Center
Health and Nutrition Activities
Since April 25, 2025, INTERSOS has actively provided a comprehensive package of health and nutritional services to returnees from Pakistan via the Spin Boldak border crossing. These services, delivered at the Kandahar Transit Camp (KTC), include 24-hour general health consultations, primary health screenings, health education sessions, nutritional assessments, hospital stabilization for urgent conditions, and referrals for complex cases requiring specialized or prolonged care. This intervention is conducted in close coordination with the Regional Health and Nutrition Clusters, the Migratory Health Working Group, and the Kandahar Public Health Directorate to ensure complementary efforts, avoid duplication, and facilitate accurate data management.
Prenatal, postnatal, and delivery care are provided within the center by midwives from a local partner organization. Complex obstetric cases requiring further clinical evaluation are referred to the INTERSOS-supported health facility, where a female doctor is available for comprehensive medical assessment and management.
Protection Activities
At the Kandahar Transit Center, our teams are providing psychological first aid to help returnees cope with stress and personal crises, in addition to distributing economic assistance so families can meet their most critical needs with dignity. In Takhtapul district, at the Reception Center, we are also ensuring that children are not left behind in their education by distributing school supply kits.
Furthermore, we will soon begin distributing Dignity Kits, containing personal hygiene products, at the Reception Center to the most vulnerable and those in urgent need.
Our latest protection monitoring indicates that over 80% of individuals in returnee communities are experiencing severe psychological distress. Many are struggling under the burden of poverty, food scarcity, and family tensions. Without swift and attentive support, these emotional wounds could become lasting, especially for the most vulnerable women, children, and people with disabilities.
Our work is founded on care, respect, and inclusion. All INTERSOS staff are trained to provide services that protect people’s dignity, uphold their rights, and ensure no one is excluded. We are listening to the people we assist, collecting and analyzing data, and adapting our response to align with the actual needs on the ground. We use gender-sensitive tools to understand how different groups (men, women, boys, and girls) are experiencing their return and what support they require to rebuild their lives.