The 15th of August marks one year since the Taliban took over Afghanistan as coalition troops withdrew. The rapid change in context has further complicated an already challenging situation.

Over 40 years of conflict, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic had already left its mark on the Afghan population. Now, the de-facto ruling authorities govern over a precarious humanitarian situation where it is reported that 95% of households do not have enough to eat.

50% of all children under five — around 3.2 million — were expected to suffer from acute malnutrition by the end of 2021 and about 1 million are on the brink of starvation. The Taliban has quickly rolled back women’s rights advances and media freedom and reports of revenge killings and human rights violations proliferate.

The Afghan diaspora: an essential lifeline!

Multiple waves of displacement over the past four decades have resulted in Afghanistan becoming one of the largest refugee-producing countries in the world. Around 6 million Afghans live outside of their country, 45% of them women. However, the Afghan diaspora is diverse and has been supporting family and communities for many years through different capacities. They were able to step into emergency response quickly after the Taliban takeover and scale-up their humanitarian assistance. However, a new set of regulations and restrictions have impacted civil society organizations engagement on the ground.

What this page is about?

We are aiming to support Afghan diaspora organizations in coordinating their response among themselves, as well as improving coordination with institutional humanitarian actors. Diaspora organizations find several resources to support their planning and programming of activities. Contact details to a range of Afghan diaspora networks worldwide can be accessed in our member section below.