Afghanistan Crisis Response Plan 2020 - 2021
IOM Vision
IOM Afghanistan assists people in need across the country with timely and effective life-saving humanitarian support, and with stabilization, including people affected by conflict and natural disaster, vulnerable returnees and migrants, and impacted host communities. IOM works to stabilize communities and build the resilience of people to mitigate risks, to recover from crises, and to reintegrate people returning home in a sustainable and holistic manner. IOM works across the humanitarian-development nexus, promoting inclusion, equality, human rights and access to services for women, men, boys and girls, in line with humanitarian principles.
Objective
Saving lives and protecting people on the move
Vulnerable undocumented returnees from Iran and Pakistan, host communities, victims of trafficking, internally displaced persons, government partners, and humanitarian and development actors.
Health support activities for undocumented returnees from Iran and Pakistan will include basic medical screening at IOM Afghanistan's clinics at the four main border crossing points with Iran and Pakistan, as well as in IOM's clinic in Kabul. IOM will provide further support through the provision of essential medicines and medical supplies, as well as referrals to higher-level care through ambulatory services.
Mobile clinics will be used to reach and ensure access to life-saving primary health care services for IDPs, host communities and other vulnerable populations. Mobile clinics will provide both curative and preventative consultations as well as referrals to primary health care facilities.
The total targetted beneficiaries for 2020 is 100,000 individuals.
Cross-border Return and Reintegration (CBRR)
The Cross-border Return and Reintegration (CBRR) programme provides humanitarian assistance to vulnerable undocumented returnees from Iran and Pakistan. Cross-border returns are projected to continue throughout the period of this plan. In 2019, returns from Iran resumed the annual trend pattern of 500,000 undocumented returns, with over half of them being deported. While the number of undocumented returns from Pakistan has been low in 2019, there is no way to predict the level of return over a multi-year period, and IOM should be prepared for a significant spike in returns such as was seen in 2016. IOM Transit Centres at major border crossing points with Pakistan and Iran provide vulnerable returning Afghan migrants with medical screening, accommodation, food, NFIs, transportation, cash grants and referral services. Linking the CBRR programme, IOM also implements the Afghanistan Returnee Information System, which allows the government to register undocumented returnees, as well as provides information about demographics and needs of returnees to government offices and humanitarian actors in provinces of final destination.
A major element of CBRR programming is the provision of immediate post-arrival humanitarian assistance for undocumented cross-border returnees at IOM Reception Transit facilities, including non-food items and referral to specialist partners as necessary
Total target beneficiaries for this activity in 2020 is 200,000.
Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Assistance (HAP)
IOM Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Assistance (HAP) programme focuses on assistance to persons affected and displaced by natural disasters. IOM implements projects in all 34 provinces, including assessing the needs of the affected and displaced population and providing emergency relief assistance through the provision of emergency shelter, NFIs and family tents. IOM engages in large-scale disaster risk reduction projects, such as the construction of gabion walls in flood- and avalanche-prone communities while establishing early warning systems through the training of community members. IOM also prepositions stocks of emergency shelter and NFIs for distribution to populations affected by natural hazards around the country.
Total target beneficiaries for this activity in 2020 is 20,000.
To support returnees' transportation costs to their final destinations in Afghanistan cash is provided, with no restrictions on its use. The value is between 8-55 USD, depending on the border of return and final destination. These values are linked to transportation market assessments. Disbursements are made at IOM transit facilities on a daily basis by IOM’s Financial Service Provider. Given the diversity of destinations and unpredictability in the size of the return caseload, cash is used over the organisation of busing or other methods to provide return services.
Total target beneficiaries for this activity in 2020 is 200,000.
Under the overall objectives of contributing to the fulfilment of needs and upholding rights of returnees, and to support the reduction of protection risks for undocumented returnees through the provision of protection services, IOM Afghanistan proposes to do the following:
- Provide integrated protection thematic guidance to ensure protection mainstreaming across all mission programmes;
- Ensure that protection related services are provided directly to all undocumented and vulnerable returnees, including family reunification;
- Conduct information dissemination activities to ensure appropriate outreach;
- Conduct training and capacity building for IOM Afghanistan staff members working in protection-related projects and social workers;
- Continue to strengthen case management tracking and analysis, as well as reports drafted based on findings, new trends, emerging protection concerns, etc.
In terms of ongoing programming, IOM's protection programme provides enhanced assistance to extremely vulnerable cross-border returnees through its case-management modality, which uses an extensive network of social workers covering 17 provinces of high-return to ensure proper follow-up and assistance is provided once these returnees reach their province of final destination.
Post arrival humanitarian assistance and case management support is provided for extremely vulnerable undocumented returnees with specific needs (PSN) from Iran and Pakistan.
This includes protection screening at the border-crossing points and enhanced protection assistance to the most vulnerable undocumented returnees. They include unaccompanied migrant children, single females, female-headed households, medical cases, victims of human rights abuses and returnees with disabilities, as well as vulnerable persons who have suffered violence, abuse, exploitation, including forms of trafficking, as well as those who might be vulnerable to these violations due to demographics, socio-economic situation, lack of parental care and lack of protective networks.
Support includes, as necessary, air transport to final destination, in-kind protection support from IOM, referral to specialist protection actors, engagement with IOM's social workers' network nationwide, development and execution of a case-management plan for returnees once in their province of final destination.
Total target beneficiaries for this activity in 2020 is 36,000.
IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) programme implements an integrated set of initiatives to ensure accurate and timely data is available to IOM for its own programming (including durable solutions), government partners, as well as other relevant humanitarian and development actors respond to the various needs in Afghanistan.
The key established DTM tools used by IOM Afghanistan includes flow monitoring at the major border crossings with Iran and Pakistan and around the drought response, in addition to community-based needs assessments and baseline mobility assessments at the settlement level in 34 provinces.
Using these, IOM Afghanistan is able to: 1) quantify population sizes, locations, needs, and mobility patterns, profiles and intentions of migrant, mobile, cross-border and nomadic populations; 2) provide evidence-based metrics on outflows, inflows of spontaneous returnees and deportees, and circular, labour migration flows; and 3) identify at-risk, vulnerable migrants in need of protection.
Contingent on funding, IOM plans to carry out the following activities:
- Biannual baseline mobility assessments and community-based needs assessments in all 34 provinces;
- Biannual flow monitoring and 8 official border crossing points and key border checkpoints;
- A survey on root causes of mobility;
- A longitudinal study of returnees from Europe.
Includes funding which supports multi-sectoral interventions or cannot be attributed to a specific activity area.

Objective
Driving solutions to displacement
Returnees and communities in areas of high returns in Afghanistan.
IOM's durable solutions objective is to create an enabling environment for sustainable reintegration of returnees in communities of high returns in Afghanistan, in which returnees reach a level of economic self-sufficiency and social stability within their community to enable them to cope with (re)migration drivers.
IOM Afghanistan's Reintegration and Development Assistance (RADA) in Afghanistan programme will continue to support an integrated approach toward reintegration and work in multiple areas along the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus. Three key areas of assistance will include:
- Implementation of community-based development projects and activities that foster economic, social and psychosocial reintegration in areas of high returns in Afghanistan;
- Ensure livelihoods and access to income for vulnerable Afghans through the provision of business development support to existing and new small and medium-sized enterprises (SME);
- Ensure livelihoods and access to income for vulnerable Afghans through the provision of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), skills training and facilitating access to sustainable employment opportunities.
Supporting health and psychosocial well-being is a key activity to create an enabling environment for sustainable reintegration of returnees in communities of high returns in Afghanistan. IOM Afghanistan will work with GoIRA and other health partners to strengthen health systems, including mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) systems.
Objective
Strengthen preparedness and reduce disaster risk
Natural disaster-induced IDPs and communities that are vulnerable to natural disasters across Afghanistan.
IOM Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Assistance (HAP) programme focuses on assistance to persons affected and displaced by natural disasters.
Activities will include the construction of small-scale disaster mitigation infrastructure and water irrigation systems, ensuring improved preparedness of vulnerable populations living in disaster-prone areas through small scale disaster risk management (DRM) infrastructure and irrigation systems.
Through this activity residents of communities/villages across targeted provinces will have increased resilience against flooding through the construction of DRM infrastructure and protection of agricultural lands and means of production.
Communities will be trained on how to mitigate and prepare for the effects of natural disasters. The expected outcome is that vulnerable communities in disaster-prone areas will have increased preparedness capacities to cope with the impact of disasters. Through this activity, target populations will gain knowledge of Community Disaster Management/Action Plans and community hazard maps. Community-level early warning systems will also be equipped to serve as first responders before and during disasters.
IOM will also provide capacity building and technical support to ANDMA’s National Disaster Management Information System (NDMIS) to ensure that they have a functional NDMIS system operating in all 34 provinces adapted to their needs and capacities, which will result in enhanced and timely information management.
The intended outcome is for provincial and headquarters-based ANDMA staff to successfully use the NDMIS and obtain timely information on disaster-affected or displaced populations to better coordinate identify disaster incidents, as well as to conduct timely assessments and provide coordinated responses.
Afghanistan
The map used here is for illustration purposes only. Names and boundaries do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by IOM.
Figures are as of 31 December 2023. For more details of IOM's operational capacity in country, please see the IOM Capacity section.