{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T16:25:26Z","timestamp":1787243126445,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764892800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764892800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int J Equity Health"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The current geopolitical situation in the Middle East suggests a growing trend of reverse migration, where migrants and refugees may be gradually returned to their home countries. This large-scale return, exemplified by the movement of Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan and the potential return of Syrians, places immense pressure on the healthcare systems of their native countries, which already face numerous challenges. This manuscript synthesizes literature through 30 June 2025 and primary agency situational and flow reports, including IOM border and flash updates, WHO-EMRO returnee health situation reports, and UNHCR emergency updates, to document the 2025 return surge and its health impacts. The recent mass return of over thousands Afghan migrants from Iran in 2025 can lead to a crisis. Driven by the return process and arduous journeys, these returnees face a profound public health crisis. Physical ailments like malnutrition, dehydration, and infections are prevalent, compounded by psychological trauma including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This influx overwhelms Afghanistan\u2019s already fragile and underfunded healthcare system, which struggles with limited resources and infrastructure. Therefore, during the reverse migration and return of migrants, attention to the health systems in the countries of origin is as crucial as it was during the initial migration. Urgent, coordinated international medical aid, psychosocial support, and disease prevention strategies are needed to address this crisis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12939-025-02723-9","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]],"date-time":"2025-12-05T09:58:41Z","timestamp":1764928721000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Reverse migration and the health emergency among Afghan returnees: a call for regional action"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"24","author":[{"given":"Seyed Aria","family":"Nejadghaderi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samira","family":"Emadi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ghulam Raza","family":"Mohammadyan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hamid","family":"Sharifi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Majid","family":"Fasihi Harandi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"AliAkbar","family":"Haghdoost","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"2723_CR1","unstructured":"UN News, Afghanistan. Surging returns from Iran overwhelm fragile support systems, UN agencies warn. 2025. Available from: https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2025\/06\/1165111"},{"key":"2723_CR2","unstructured":"International Organization for Migration. Migration and Migrants: Regional Dimensions and Developments. 2025. Available from: https:\/\/worldmigrationreport.iom.int\/what-we-do\/world-migration-report-2024-chapter-3\/asia"},{"issue":"9","key":"2723_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e19479","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2023.e19479","volume":"9","author":"A Saha","year":"2023","unstructured":"Saha A, Dutta A, Rezvi MR, Sifat RI, Sultana N, Nuruzzaman, et al. Adapting to change: exploring reverse migration as a coping strategy among internal migrants in Bangladesh. Heliyon. 2023;9(9):e19479.","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"key":"2723_CR4","unstructured":"United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). (2000). General Comment No. 14: The right to the highest attainable standard of health (Art. 12). Adopted at the Twenty-second session, Geneva, 11\u201329 August 2000. Available at: https:\/\/www.refworld.org\/pdfid\/4538838d0.pdf"},{"key":"2723_CR5","unstructured":"World Health Organization (WHO). Global Action Plan on Promoting the Health of Refugees and Migrants 2019\u20132023. Geneva: WHO. 2019. Available from: WHO global action plan on promoting the health of refugees and migrants, 2019\u20132030."},{"issue":"2","key":"2723_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"221","DOI":"10.1093\/migration\/mns011","volume":"1","author":"L Schuster","year":"2013","unstructured":"Schuster L, Majidi N. What happens post-deportation? The experience of deported Afghans. 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