Like Zainab and her children, millions of Afghan refugees have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan over the past year, only to find themselves in a country where they have nothing and which is ill-equipped to welcome them.
Zainab, 24, was forced to return to Afghanistan with her three children after a decade in Iran, only to find a life worse than the one they left behind. Their homecoming did not bring relief or safety; instead, it brought hunger, fear, and a reality full of challenges. Zainab and all her children suffer from asthma, a chronic condition that has become their inherited burden. In a country already overwhelmed by widespread poverty, lack of essential services, and climate shocks, Zainab and her family now struggle simply to survive as they find themselves without work, without shelter, and without hope.
Across Afghanistan, families are grappling with soaring market prices, scarce or non-existent labour opportunities, and harsh climate shocks that continue to displace communities internally. Against this backdrop, the high number of returnees arriving from neighbouring countries, particularly from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Pakistan, over the past year, reflects the precarity of those living outside Afghanistan. Nearly 2.9 million people have returned to the country empty-handed, forced to start again from nothing, facing uncertainty and constant movement in search of better opportunities and living conditions.
Starting over with nothing
“Afghanistan is new for my children; they were all born in Iran,” said Zainab, who had lived in Iran for the past 10 years. The family initially moved there due to the lack of job opportunities in Afghanistan, after they had already been displaced from Farah to Nimroz province in search of work. “In Iran, even with all the hardships, we had something to hold on to” Zainab said quietly. “My husband had work, and we could manage a simple life. Here, everything has collapsed. We are lost, not knowing where to go or how to start again”, she added. Zainab explained that they were neither able to retrieve their rent deposit from the homeowner nor sell their belongings. They crossed the border with all left behind, no savings, no assets, no safety net.
INTERSOS’ response, supported by the European Union
Since August 2025, INTERSOS, with the support of the European Union, has established Basic Health Centres in returnee settlement areas in Nimroz, Herat, Kandahar and Helmand provinces, specifically designed to respond to the needs of returnees arriving from Iran and Pakistan. These facilities serve as the first place many returnee families turn to when health concerns arise. Through them, INTERSOS provides an integrated package of health, nutrition, protection, and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services, offering a rare point of stability for families living in conditions of extreme uncertainty.
Zainab said that since returning to Afghanistan, her family has faced constant hardship, from the lack of adequate shelter to the complete absence of income. “My husband stands all day in the streets looking for someone to pick him up for a job, but there is none. My children often sleep hungry at night, and when they ask for food, I am dying to say we have nothing at home, so I give them a fake promise of food when they wake up, so they can sleep at night.”
Mental and Physical Health: An Inseparable Link
The stress has taken a severe toll on her health. Zainab said she suffers from intense migraines, which an INTERSOS doctor has identified as linked to her mental health. She explained, “I am fine when I talk to your psychologist, but it’s only for the one hour that I am here. When I return home and see my children and our situation, I forget everything, and pain spreads through my whole body again.”
Through its Health Facilities, INTERSOS supports families like Zainab’s by providing mental health services, essential medication, medical consultations, delivery services, and vaccinations, critical lifelines for people who have lost almost everything.
Access to health services is not negotiable. For returnee families, INTERSOS Health Facilities located near settlement areas are often the first and only point of care when illness strikes. With the support of the European Union, INTERSOS continues reaching those who would otherwise remain unreached, offering dignity, care, and a measure of hope to families struggling to rebuild their lives after a forced and costly return.