Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Future: What's Next?

Within a few weeks, twenty years of NATO military operations and efforts in Afghanistan will lie in shambles. In the wake of the U.S. force's withdrawal, Afghan security forces melted away, the Afghan leadership fled the country, and the Taliban took over, leading to chaos and panic.



Even prior to their departure, Afghanistan struggled with a myriad of humanitarian crises, such as widespread forced displacement, food insecurity, increased violence, and a third wave of the COVID-19. The takeover of the Taliban further endangers Afghanistan's already precarious humanitarian situation. Recent developments have restricted Afghans’ access to basic services and commodities, increased insecurity, and jeopardized women's position in society. As a result, a new refugee crisis is anticipated in Europe as well as in Afghanistan’s neighbors.



What kind of future awaits Afghan society? How can others help and how can the refugee flow from Afghanistan be managed?



Please join us for a conversation on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the humanitarian consequences of this withdrawal.

• Zarifa Ghafari, Afghan Human Rights Activist and Politician 
• Magdalena Kirchner, Country Director Afghanistan, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
• Jacob Kurtzer, Director and Senior Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Fulya Memisoglu, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Yildiz Technical University

If you have any questions, please contact Annika Vollmer at [email protected].

This online event is part of a series of events and analyses organized as part of the GMF-TOBB Fellowship on Turkey, Europe, and Global Issues launched by GMF in partnership with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) in 2017.



The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan policy organization committed to the idea that the United States and Europe are stronger together.