IOM is responding to the needs of Afghans who have returned to Afghanistan from North Waziristan in Pakistan, where ongoing military operations have displaced thousands on both sides of the border in the past week.

The UN estimates that as many as 13,000 families, both Afghan and Pakistani, have been displaced into Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces.

Staff from IOM’s offices in Kabul, Jalalabad and Gardez have now arrived in Khost and are working closely with government and humanitarian partners to coordinate the rapid and effective delivery of aid.

IOM, in coordination with the Afghan Department of Refugees and Repatriation, is currently interviewing Afghan families in Khost to determine their needs and future intentions. Most of the families that IOM has spoken with so far have expressed a need for health care, shelter and basic relief supplies.

IOM is also mobilizing relief kits from its network of warehouses across the country. These kits contain basic household supplies and other essential items to help ease the hardship of displacement.

IOM has also been asked to compile and map assessment results to increase awareness of the evolving crisis. This information will be distributed to all relevant humanitarian agencies to help to effectively coordinate response activities.

Insecurity in Khost and Paktika provinces creates challenges for accessing some affected families. But IOM is working in partnership with local officials and communities to ensure that as many vulnerable people as possible are reached with assistance.

“This large influx of vulnerable people into the border areas of Afghanistan is of serious concern to the humanitarian community,” said IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission Richard Danziger. “We are putting all our efforts into delivering aid to those most in need and are helping to stabilize the situation.”

Through its cross-border return and reintegration programme, funded by the Government of Japan, IOM supports the safe and dignified return of Afghans from Iran and Pakistan. Over 140,000 people have been assisted through the programme since 2009.

For further information please contact

Matt Graydon, IOM Kabul, Tel: +93 794 100 546, Email: mgraydon@iom.int