KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The government of Japan has contributed $2 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assist Afghans returning from Iran and Pakistan to Afghanistan, as well as the vulnerable communities hosting them.
In a statement released on Wednesday (March 11), UNHCR said the funding will be used for a project titled “Provision of Emergency Assistance for Afghans Returning from Iran and Pakistan Together with Vulnerable Host Communities in Afghanistan.”
According to the UN refugee agency, Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian situation amid a large-scale return of migrants from neighboring countries. In 2025 alone, more than 2.8 million Afghans returned to the country, many arriving with very limited belongings and facing urgent needs such as shelter, food, livelihoods and protection.
The situation has been further complicated by two major earthquakes in 2025 and growing operational challenges affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance across the country.
The project funded by Japan will be implemented over a 10-month period from March to December 2026 and is expected to support about 116,310 people in areas receiving large numbers of returnees.
As part of the initiative, UNHCR will provide emergency cash assistance to approximately 23,000 returning Afghans. The cash support is intended to help families meet their most urgent needs, including transportation costs, rent and food, while allowing them flexibility to prioritize their own basic expenses.
The agency said the assistance will be distributed following biometric registration, protection assessments and vulnerability screening, with priority given to female-headed households, persons with disabilities and individuals facing heightened protection risks.
UNHCR also plans to conduct protection monitoring and assessments for more than 77,000 returnees and members of host communities. These activities will take place in several areas, including key border reception centers, in order to identify protection risks, monitor human rights concerns and inform humanitarian responses.
In addition, specialized protection services will be delivered to around 11,000 women and girls through programmes aimed at preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Child protection services are also expected to reach approximately 4,400 vulnerable children considered to be at risk.
To address critical housing needs, the UN agency said it will support the construction of 84 permanent and climate-resilient shelters for returning families and vulnerable host communities, aiming to improve safety, dignity and longer-term stability in areas experiencing high levels of return.
UNHCR has operated in Afghanistan for almost four decades, continuing to lead the Protection, Shelter, and CCCM Clusters while collaborating with partners to provide coordinated, needs-based support. Japan’s timely funding will help reduce protection risks, promote social cohesion, and assist returnees in rebuilding their lives with dignity.
UNHCR noted that the initiative aligns with Japan’s priorities on human security, gender equality and peacebuilding, while also supporting broader international efforts to address the needs of Afghan refugees and returnees.
Japan has been among the largest donors to Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, with assistance largely delivered through UN agencies and focused on health, education, livelihoods, and agriculture.
Two weeks earlier, Japan also announced an additional $4.4 million in humanitarian assistance to support emergency response efforts in Afghanistan, according to UNICEF. The funding is aimed at providing life-saving services to more than 60,000 people—most of them children—including access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and child protection programmes. UNICEF said the assistance comes as humanitarian needs continue to rise amid mass returns of Afghan migrants, drought, water shortages, disease outbreaks, and growing risks facing children such as explosive ordnance contamination, child labor, early marriage, and gender-based violence.
The UN refugee agency has been operating in Afghanistan for nearly four decades and continues to coordinate protection and shelter responses across the country in cooperation with humanitarian partners. It said Japan’s contribution will help reduce protection risks, strengthen social cohesion and support Afghan returnees as they attempt to rebuild their lives.
Afghanistan continues to rely heavily on humanitarian aid, with nearly half its population in need amid declining international funding. Aid agencies have warned that shortfalls could severely impact life-saving operations.
