33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

15 At the end of 2015, the UNHCR estimated there are approximately 1.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan. Violence has been the major factor in involuntary population movements among Afghans. An additional 2.7 million Afghans are refugees abroad, primarily in Pakistan and Iran, where they face an uncertain political situation, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Iranian officials, for example, deport thousands of undocumented Afghans without allowing them the opportunity to demonstrate a legal right to remain in Iran, or to lodge an asylum application. When Afghan refugees do repatriate, they return to a country that remains plagued by war, poverty, and lawlessness. According to a 2012 report by the Feinstein International Center, one in three Afghan children are malnourished, with rates far higher in conflict-affected regions. Access to health care remains very limited, with 15 percent of the population without access to even basic healthcare services. In areas where fighting continues, militants lack respect for the neutrality of health care facilities, making visiting these facilities dangerous. Afghan Refugees Norah Niland