Provision of seasonal winter assistance to vulnerable households in Panjshir Province (Paryan, Rukha  Shutul Districts) ltpgtltspan style="color: black font-family: Arial, sans-serif"gtThe proposed project aims to provide life-saving assistance to address the immediate winterization needs of 1716 HHs 12012(1799 people with disabilities)

 in the Paryan, Rukha, and Shutul districts of Panjshir Province.lt/spangtltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtThe 2023 Whole of Afghanistan Assessment (WoAA) already indicates that a staggering 79 percent of households require shelter repairs, and up to 10 percent of households are headed by women or children without adult male members. It is expected that there will be urgent needs for shelter, heating materials, and clothing during the early onset of winter to avert people’s exposure to health risks and other hazards (2023 ICCT Winter Prioritization). lt/pgtltpgtIn the Panjshir province, the economic situation of people is getting worse due to climate change and other emergencies that increase vulnerabilities.  A late 2022 Whole of Afghanistan Assessment revealed that 60 percent of households experienced economic shocks, with 25 percent resorting to emergency coping strategies, and the most vulnerable HHs are expected to continue adopting negative coping strategies in the upcoming months (WAA 2022). People are restricted from collecting winter heating material from the mountains, which has been a traditional practice for years due to security reasons. Also, people cannot afford to rear livestock since the pastures are not easy to access after the Taliban took over the Panjshir which means they are not able to use the animal dung as heating for the winter. Most of the population in these hard-to-reach districts will soon be facing severe winter conditions with a need for heating material and winter clothing. This proposed project will be implemented to improve the life conditions for many of the most vulnerable individuals (e.g., pregnant women, children, and elderly people) throughout the winter season.ltbrgt The 2023 ICCT and WAA highlight significant needs over the winter due to aggravated vulnerability. This will be critical for many people – particularly conflict-affected populations who reside in undignified living conditions with little access to basic services.ltbrgt ltbrgt The chosen modality for this assistance will be through direct cash transfers to the neediest households, which will enable target beneficiaries to access essential heating materials, clothing, and blankets in the harsh winter season. Cash modality enables beneficiaries to feel empowered to make an informed decision. Also, it empowers the local markets by increasing the demand and supply which indirectly improves the economic situation of the indirect beneficiaries including local vendors. Local and neighboring markets are accessible for all target groups including female-headed households, People with disability, and elderly men and women with a daily connection to the provincial market that can supply the demand for commodities. Implementing a similar project in 2022-2023 enables NAC to use the lessons learned and improve the quality of the intervention for future projects. This project aligns with NAC’s current programs to add emergency assistance to our “emergency cash assistance” to ensure that families and their children have access to heating materials to cope with the harsh winter season. NAC will ensure a gender-sensitive selection process and accessible accountability mechanisms, and the gender-balanced field team will ensure easy access by both genders. An awareness-raising session on the Mitigation of body freezing due to cold will be held with 30-40 beneficiaries for at least 3 hours to sensitize beneficiaries to the negative impacts of the freezing of body parts. Also, community elders and Mullahs in each target community will be conducted to covey the key messages in the Masjids. ltspan style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif color: black"gtNAC proposes an unconditional unrestricted cash
for winterization (200 USD heating, 74 USD winter clothing) in one trench
through hawala prevailing exchange rate. lt/spangt



ltbrgtlt/pgt

ltpgtlt/pgt