The refugee response plan (RRP) will maintain a needs-based approach, ensuring that refugees have access to protection, basic services and assistance while upholding their rights under international legal frameworks, including the principle of non-refoulement. It will prioritise advocacy to prevent arbitrary detention and enable access to housing. This is particularly important in the absence of a national refugee law, which heightens protection risks and limits predictable procedures. As a cross-cutting objective, the response will prioritise the specific needs of refugee women and girls and promote gender and disability responsive programming.
Response strategy
In the absence of a national asylum system, UNHCR continues to register and issue documentation to asylum-seekers and refugees, enabling access to protection and essential services. Registered refugees and asylum-seekers living in urban areas will receive cash-based assistance to cover basic needs, alongside AFN 40,000 to support medical expenses. In addition, FSAC plans to extend food assistance to this population. Refugee Status Determination will be strategically prioritised for cases eligible for resettlement or complementary pathways. Legal assistance will support access to civil documentation, including birth and marriage certificates, while advocacy will focus on expanding access to education and formal employment opportunities.
A needs-based response will combine cash assistance of AFN 3,400 per person, with additional medical cash for verified cases, legal aid, protection case management, and education grants through the Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative Fund (DAFI). Community-led initiatives in urban areas and selected provinces, including Khost and Paktika, will help strengthen community resilience and participation.
Prioritisation will focus on meeting immediate protection needs while enhancing self-reliance and inclusion in a context where prospects for durable solutions remain limited. The most vulnerable individuals will be prioritised for resettlement, supported by targeted legal, protection, and MHPSS services. Age, gender, and disability considerations will shape all interventions, with tailored support for women, children, older persons, and individuals at heightened risk.
The integration of protection principles across all programme activities will remain a central pillar of the response. Partners will ensure the safety, dignity and meaningful access of refugees and asylum-seekers to humanitarian assistance, regardless of gender, age, disability, or displacement status. To inform and adapt programming, partners will continue to consult and communicate with refugees through existing complaint and feedback mechanisms, including UNHCR’s complaint and feedback mechanism.
Cost of response
In 2026, the refugee response is estimated to require a total budget of $1.97 million. This includes targeted allocations to support protection, assistance and inclusion activities for refugees and asylum-seekers across Afghanistan, as well as food assistance.
Cash assistance will remain the most cost-efficient modality and enable flexible and rapid delivery while reducing logistical and administrative costs compared to in-kind assistance. In line with inter-agency guidelines, the budget also reflects additional costs to ensure inclusive programming, including transportation for women and girls, accessibility measures, and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities.
Monitoring
Comprehensive data, including age and gender, is available for urban refugees through UNHCR’s ProGres database, where all asylum-seekers and refugees are individually registered. This includes disaggregated data on age, gender and diversity. Cash assistance distribution is managed through the Global Distribution Tool. Medical information and related cash assistance are monitored through monthly Multi-Functional Team meetings with a partner doctor. Legal assistance is monitored through ActivityInfo.
Community-led initiatives are monitored by UNHCR protection staff in collaboration with partner organisations in the relevant regions. The livelihoods team monitors livelihoods projects, while protection case management, including GBV, child protection, and MHPSS, is monitored jointly by partners and the Protection Unit. Regular feedback will be gathered through UNHCR’s community feedback mechanism and other community engagement mechanisms to ensure accountability and inform programme adjustments as required.
Coordination and partnerships
The refugee response in Afghanistan is led by UNHCR in both rural and urban areas. In the southeast, UNHCR works with the Watan Social and Technical Service Association (WSTA) to operate the community centre and conduct monitoring activities, and with the Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan (WADAN) to provide legal assistance. UNHCR collaborates with partner organisations on protection case management and refers cases requiring specialised support to WFP and UNICEF. Organisations operating in areas where this population resides will provide assistance and services to the refugee and asylum seeker population as required. The refugee response will increasingly coordinate with durable solutions and HLP actors to address overlapping needs among refugee, returnee and host communities, ensuring complementarity of assistance.
