According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), there are more than 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan today. These are families torn from their roots by conflict, natural disaster, climate change, and other vagaries of man and nature. These IDPs face tremendous difficulties in reestablishing themselves in new communities. Not only are they deprived of their traditional support networks, they are often traumatized by their journeys, and have lost confidence in themselves and those around them.

In 2013, the Government of Afghanistan for the first time enacted a National Policy for IDPs, to identify the appropriate authorities for handling this crisis, and to outline a strategy for coping with it. If properly enacted, this policy could substantially reduce the negative effects of displacement. However, lack of political will and/or capacity has stalled the effort.

Duran has been engaged in efforts aimed at measuring the reaction of the IDPs to interventions aimed at improving their lives and building their capacity for healthy re-integration. Since 2013, Duran has been surveying numerous IDP settlements in the northern parts of the country and is currently developing a set of interventions in partnership with national and international partners.