UNICEF reports that over 2 million Afghans, including around half a million children, have already returned to Afghanistan this year from neighboring countries. The agency has seen improved access across the country, enabling delivery of humanitarian services at border reception centers like Islam Qala, Kunduz, and Herat. Yet, the rapid pace of returns—peaking at over 50,000 arrivals in a single day—has overwhelmed fragile communities. Many families, especially those with children, arrive vulnerable, exhausted, and anxious about rebuilding their lives, with mounting concerns about disrupted education, particularly for adolescent girls barred from continuing beyond grade six. By July, UNICEF had documented and helped reunify over 6,000 unaccompanied or separated children with their families.
In response to the crisis, UNICEF urges stakeholders—including host and home governments, UN agencies, donors, and NGOs—to institute a systematic, safe, dignified, voluntary, and phased approach to returns. This should ensure continuity of care throughout transit, sustained access to essential services at final destinations, and strengthened child protection, especially for separated and unaccompanied children. UNICEF also calls for coordinated dialogue among Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan to better manage return flows, and for increased donor support to bolster humanitarian assistance at border points and within communities receiving returnees