30 August 2024 — Three years since the U.S withdrew from Afghanistan and evacuated over 76,000 Afghans in a historic effort, humanitarian needs across the country continue to skyrocket. Food insecurity is increasing across the country, while women and girls continue to be barred from education and face limited access to employment opportunities. Despite three years of international isolation, increasing poverty and accelerating challenges driven by the climate crisis, IRC programs across the country and around the world have witnessed the inspirational resilience of the Afghan people. No matter the circumstance, humanitarians working across the nation’s 11 provinces continue to implement innovative ways of delivering our program’s response, even when challenges remain especially for women and girls in some of the most remote regions.
The International Rescue Committee has remained committed to delivering humanitarian support to Afghans inside the country, as well as providing resettlement services to those who are now living in other countries including across 29 cities in the United States. Over the last three years, we have delivered services including healthcare, cash support and emergency assistance to over 14.5 millions of people in Afghanistan. Our country program remains proudly served by 99% Afghan nationals, men and women dedicated to serve people affected by the growing crisis. Meanwhile, the IRC’s teams across the U.S. have helped 11,621 evacuated Afghans since August 2021 and 12,000 Afghan refugees and SIVs since October 2021 to secure a home, rebuild their lives and integrate into new communities.
Salma Ben Aissa, IRC Afghanistan Director, said,
“The last three years have had a devastating toll on the Afghan population, including those who left the country in August 2021. Political uncertainty, international isolationism, the climate crisis and economic crisis have caused an increase in humanitarian needs that has left almost 24 million people in need of support.
“Food insecurity has reached worrying levels; one in four Afghans do not know where their next meal will come from. Meanwhile, according to the UN, Afghans made up almost 70% of people who lost their lives attempting to seek safety in neighbouring countries in the Asia-Pacific region in 2023. This is a shocking indicator of the danger that Afghans face even outside of their home country.
“As the world focuses its attention on new emerging crises elsewhere in the world, the international community must not shift its funding and support away from Afghanistan. This would be detrimental to continue meeting the needs of people who have been living through one of the world’s longest humanitarian crises.”
Hans Van de Weerd, Senior Vice President for Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration, said,
“The resettlement of Afghans was one of the most complex and unprecedented humanitarian challenges in American history; yet, the IRC alongside other resettlement organisations worked around the clock to provide essential services to Afghan humanitarian parolees who came through Operation Allies Welcome. For the last three years, Afghan parolees have become our friends and neighbours. They are filling critical jobs in the U.S. market and contributing to their new communities as earners and taxpayers.
“Now, more than ever, we must not forget how our Afghan allies worked alongside America. The U.S. government must keep the promise of safety made to those it chose to welcome in 2021 by passing legislation such as the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, which provides Afghan allies already in the US with a pathway to permanent residence. At the same time we must continue to provide access to asylum, resettlement, and other pathways to those Afghans who are still seeking safety.”