UNHCR’s New Appeal from Partners to Stay the Course and Help Afghan Refugees and Hosts

Summary of UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in GENEVA 

According to the UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo, the Regional Refugee Response Plan for the Afghanistan Situation 2023 seeks USD 613 million to support 7.9 million people, including 5.2 million Afghans and  2.7 million of their local hosts across the region. This support is for sheltering Afghan refugees in five neighbouring countries, including Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in partnership with their 65 partners engaged in the response, has launched this plan for January to December 2023.

According to UNHCR, the countries mentioned above host about 8.2 million Afghans, including more than 2 million registered refugees. The country vice highliths of the response plan are as follows:

Uzbekistan:

  • 11,700 estimated total Afghan population
  • 11,700 targeted Afghan refugees
  • 21,750 targeted host community

Turkmenistan:

  • 5000 estimated total Afghan population
  • 2000 targeted Afghan refugees
  • 2500 targeted host community

Tajikistan:

  • 11,000 estimated total Afghan population
  • 9,700 targeted Afghan refugees
  • 1,300 targeted Afghans of another status
  • 46,000 targeted host community

Iran:

  • 4,500,000 estimated total Afghan population
  • 820,700 targeted Afghan refugees
  • 1,237,719 targeted Afghans of another status
  • 1, 209,062 targeted host community

Pakistan:

  • 3,700,000 estimated total Afghan population
  • 1,500,000 targeted Afghan refugees
  • 1,600,000 targeted Afghans of another status
  • 1, 440,000 targeted host community

According to the UNHCR, an estimated 1.6 million Afghans have arrived in the region since 2021. More than 70% are women and children in need of support.

The UN has also launched a separate UN-wide plan to respond to humanitarian requirements inside Afghanistan. This plan seeks USD 4.62 billion to support about 23.7 million Afghans in 2023.

These plans are in response to Afghanistan’s latest crises. Afghanistan is one of the world’s largest countries with the most severe humanitarian crises; a record 28.3 million people require humanitarian and protection assistance. This number is some two-thirds of the population, including women and girls. Recent Taliban restrictions on women and the ban on female Afghan NGO staff have worsened the conditions.

The United Nations (UN) and its partners appeal to the international community to support Afghans and not forget or neglect the people of Afghanistan. The UN humanitarian partners, despite the challenges, remain on the ground in delivering protection and support inside Afghanistan and the region. Financial support remains critical to delay widespread hunger, malnutrition, disease, and death.