The children form part of a surge of returnees, with 84,000 people crossing into Afghanistan in recent weeks, adding to a total of about 940,000 people – including about 545,000 children – who have now returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan since September 2023.
KABUL, 18 April 2025: About 50,000 children have crossed into Afghanistan from Pakistan in the first 16 days of April, after the deadline for all undocumented Afghans to leave Pakistan expired at the end of March, Save the Children said [1].
The children form part of a surge of returnees, with 84,000 people crossing into Afghanistan in recent weeks, adding to a total of about 940,000 people – including about 545,000 children – who have now returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan since September 2023. Some 58% of the returnees are children, and one in five are under five years of age [2].
Save the Children is providing round the clock health, nutrition and water and sanitation services through its mobile health team to new arrivals at a reception centre in Kandahar province.
Children crossing into Afghanistan are at risk of being separated from their families, said Save the Children, and are particularly vulnerable to outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections, that spread easily in crowded places.
Omer* (30), is an Afghan father of five who was born and raised in Pakistan. He arrived in Afghanistan this month and told Save the Children:
“I still cannot believe what has happened. I have lost everything overnight."
"When I crossed into Afghanistan, I came empty-handed. The only things I managed to bring were my children’s clothes, a few blankets, and some basic kitchen utensils. That is all."
"I have no relatives here except one sister who is also living in a rented house. I have no home, no place to go. The only thing I could think of on the way here was: where will I take my family? It has been overwhelming. Just over a year ago, we were living a normal life. I was content with my work and my family. Now, everything has changed in the blink of an eye.
"I have lived my entire life in Pakistan, so being here, I feel like a stranger in my own homeland."
Nearly half of families who returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan said there were no jobs available for them, according to a Save the Children survey in 2024. 81% of people surveyed added that they do not have any skills that could lead to work. Almost two thirds of children who returned to Afghanistan were not enrolled in school, and the majority told Save the Children that they did not have the necessary documents to register. In Pakistan, more than two thirds of those children had been attending school.
Afghanistan now has one of the largest internally displaced populations in the world – roughly 1 in 7 people - with that number likely to increase this year as Afghans leave or are deported from Pakistan and Iran. [3]
Nearly 23 million Afghans – just under half the population - will require humanitarian assistance this year. Nearly 15 million people are facing acute food insecurity – including 3.5 million acutely malnourished children - and more than 14 million people have limited access to healthcare, according to the UN.
Arshad Malik, Country Director, Save the Children Afghanistan, said:
“Many of these children were born in Pakistan - Afghanistan is not the place they call home.
“The return of so many people is creating an additional strain on already overstretched resources, and this new wave of refugees comes at a time when the Afghanistan is starting to feel the brutal impacts of aid cuts.
“Afghanistan not only needs urgent funding from international donors and governments - to address immediate humanitarian needs, but also long-term community-based solutions including education, livelihoods, and infrastructure to help displaced Afghans rebuild their lives.”
“Pakistan has generously hosted large numbers of Afghan refugees for many decades. We hope that this demonstration of compassion and solidarity will continue, that Pakistan will uphold its obligations under international law, uphold the principle of nonrefoulment, and continue to provide sanctuary for those vulnerable children and their families who are still need international protection.”
Save the Children has been supporting communities and protecting children's rights across Afghanistan since 1976, including during periods of conflict and natural disasters. We have programmes in 10 provinces and work with partners in an additional 11 provinces. Since August 2021, we've scaled up our response to support the increasing number of children in need. We deliver services spanning health, nutrition, education, child protection, shelter, water, sanitation, hygiene and livelihoods.
*Name changed to protect identity.
Notes to Editors:
[1] UNHCR 16 April 2025: 84,800 people have returned to Afghanistan in the period between 1 April 2025 to 16 April 2025, of whom 58% are children https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/115771
[2] 938,900 Afghans have returned to Pakistan since 15 September 2023, 58% of whom are children. https://reporting.unhcr.org/pakistan-afghanistan-returns-emergency-response-core
