Every day, buses arrive at the Afghanistan-Iran border, carrying exhausted and desperate Afghan refugee families with all their belongings. Many are returning to a country they barely know, forced to leave Iran after decades of living there.

Following a recent visit to the Islam Qala border area, Arafat Jamal, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Representative in Afghanistan, told UN News that the number of returnees has surged amid rising tensions following the recent Israel-Iran war.

Together with its partners, the UN agency is working to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of returnees, providing food, water, shelter, protection, financial support, and access to health care, legal aid and reintegration services.

However, severe funding cuts have had a “brutal impact” on these efforts. “The level of cash assistance has dropped dramatically, from $2,000 per family to just $156, making it far more difficult for people to rebuild their lives,” Mr. Jamal told UN News’ Sachin Gaur.