Fear of deportation has reduced Afghan refugees’ access to health services in Pakistan, says Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that Pakistan’s policy of expelling Afghan refugees has caused many of them to avoid seeking medical care out of fear of being detained, leading to an increase in child malnutrition, health problems among pregnant women, and other preventable diseases.

The organization added that Afghan refugees constantly face the fear of arrest, detention, job loss, and forced deportation, and called on the Pakistani government to stop the process of forcibly returning Afghans to Afghanistan.

MSF also called on other countries to stop all involuntary returns to Afghanistan.