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Documents
The Role of the Afghan Diaspora in Emergency and Recovery Efforts (2025)
Full report and executive summaries: The Role of the Afghan Diaspora in Emergency and Recovery Efforts. The report includes the return dynamics from Iran in 2023 and the emergency and recovery efforts to the Herat Earthquake in the Herat Province in 2023.
Executive summary
This study, delves into the role played by the Afghan diaspora in responding to crises within Afghanistan, focusing on the 2023 Herat earthquake response as a case study as well as the recent return dynamics from Iran to the Herat Province in 2025.
The research analyses the diverse contributions of the Afghan diaspora, the operational mechanisms they employ, their motivations for doing so, and the challenges and opportunities they face in their engagement in humanitarian action in Afghanistan.
Amidst decreasing aid funding, the escalating impacts of climate change, and significant forced returns of Afghans from neighboring countries, understanding and leveraging diaspora resources is more crucial than ever.
The Afghan diaspora is one of the largest globally, with estimates placing over 7.5 million Afghans residing outside their country by mid-2024. The “far Afghan diaspora,” predominantly based in Western countries, emerged as a critical force in supporting the relief efforts in Herat, leveraging their transnational ties to mobilise resources and channel them directly to local responders.
The study was designed with three objectives to provide a holistic understanding of diaspora engagement:
1. Mapping Diaspora Actors and Funding Modalities
2. Analysing Enablers and Hindrances
3. Assessing Impact and Coordination
The research engaged over 60 participants – diaspora actors, local actors, and innovators – to
reflect an array of perspectives.
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