1701351241-2/Afghan-refugees-(4)1701351241-2.webp?w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1 "Afghan economy buckles under hunger and debt")
UNDP report warns of worsening poverty as millions of returnees strain fragile public services
More than 345,000 Afghans have returned to their country or been deported since Pakistan in October ordered undocumented migrants or those who have overstayed their visas to leave. PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
Afghanistan’s economic recovery is faltering as nine in ten households are forced to skip meals, sell belongings or take on debt to survive, the United Nations said on Wednesday, warning that mass returns are worsening the country’s deepest crisis since the Taliban’s return to power.
A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report said nearly one in ten overseas Afghans has been forced back home, with more than 4.5 million returnees since 2023 — mainly from Iran and Pakistan — swelling the population by 10%. It added that earthquakes, floods, and drought have destroyed 8,000 homes and strained public services ‘beyond their limits’.
A survey of more than 48,000 households found that over half of Afghanistan’s returnees have skipped medical care to buy food, and 45% rely on open springs or unprotected wells for water. Nearly 90% of returning families are in debt, owing between $373 and $900 — up to five times the average monthly income of $100 and nearly half of annual per capita GDP, the UNDP said.
In areas with high numbers of returnees, one teacher serves 70 to 100 students, 30% of children work, and joblessness among returnees reaches 95%. The average monthly income is 6,623 Afghanis ($99.76), while rents have tripled.
The UNDP warned that without urgent support to strengthen livelihoods and services in high-return areas, overlapping crises of poverty, exclusion, and migration will deepen. It said sustaining aid is critical, as donor pledges have plunged since 2021, covering only a fraction of the $3.1 billion that the UN sought for Afghanistan this year.
Participation by women in Afghanistan’s labour force has fallen to 6%, one of the lowest globally, and restrictions on movement have made it nearly impossible for women heading households to access jobs, education, or healthcare.
“In some provinces one in four households depend on women as the main breadwinner, so when women are prevented from working, families, communities, the country lose out,” Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP regional director for Asia and the Pacific, said.
Households headed by women — as many as 26% of returnee families in some districts — face the highest risk of food insecurity and secondary displacement.
