Afghan returnees from Iran receive vital aid thanks to UN emergency fund

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has provided crucial assistance to over 1,600 Afghan families returning home from Iran since the end of July thanks to the help of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

With support from the Fund, IOM has been able to distribute supplies such as agricultural tools and emergency shelter materials to returnees in Farah, Nimroz and Herat provinces.

The funds provided by the CERF are essential in enabling IOM to help individuals, stabilize border provinces and strengthen peace in affected areas. “Many returning families are very vulnerable and arrive in communities that have very limited resources,” noted Fernando Arocena, head of IOM Afghanistan.

IOM teams are working closely with national and provincial Afghan authorities, as well as the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and other agencies, and will continue to provide assistance to Afghan returnees through August and September or longer if needed.

In another development, over 300 young people from all of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have gathered in Kabul for a national conference in support of peace and development.

The three-day conference, which began yesterday, is supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and part of a national youth programme involving various Government ministries and UN agencies.

It aims to provide Afghan youth with the opportunity to share their ideas, hopes and visions for a more peaceful and prosperous nation, according to the organizers.

Speaking on behalf of the world body, UNDP Country Director Anita Nirody described Afghanistan’s youth as a “vast resource of human capital” with the potential to contribute positively towards the country’s development and reconciliation.