Life-saving winterization support for 1,060 vulnerable families affected by extreme climatic conditions in Daykundi province. According to the most recent Joint Winterization Strategy – 2020, 101,603 people in Daykundi province require multi-sectoral assistance to cope with the next winter season. Harsh climatic conditions, and projected heavy snowfalls due to the high altitude, will disproportionally affect heavily indebted target communities, facing lack of job opportunities and selling off their assets to meet their basic needs. Huge loss of productive assets such as agricultural land, agricultural inputs, and livestock due to natural disasters and poor economic climate have severely affected the wellbeing of the target population. The COVID-19 pandemic (C-19) has eroded communities’ already limited capacities and acquired resilience to face extreme weather conditions. Additionally, emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC 4) recorded in the province are unlikely to improve in the next 4 months. Small-holder farmers are soon to see their food stocks exhausted, faced with the necessity of adopting negative coping strategies to survive the winter months. Based on findings from its recent needs assessment, RCDC and Caritas Germany (CG) propose to provide 1,060 households (8,480 individuals) with critical winterization life-saving assistance.

Partners have envisaged a multi-sector approach, in line with the Joint Winterization Strategy – 2020 priorities and standardized assistance packages. Assistance has been customized according to needs assessment findings on a geographical base.

In line with ESampNFIs cluster priorities, CG and its two sub-implementing partners RCDC and CAWC propose to provide 800 households in Sharestan and Miramor districts with in-kind blankets and quilts (value of 40USD) aimed at meeting household winter priorities. Among rural communities of Sharestan and Miramor districts, an additional livestock protection package will be provided in-kind to the same 800 households. While in Nili city, the need for heating material/devices has been prioritized through the provision of a standard cash package of 260USD to 260 households, complemented by in-kind blanket support. Additionally, due to the lack of job opportunities, which will aggravate during winter, the same beneficiaries will also be supported with a subsidiary rental package (75USD).
As complementary assistance, all 1,060 households receiving ESampNFI support will also receive standard food security support in the form of cash (3,000AFN). 

Cash assistance has been envisaged as unconditional and unrestricted, with the sole exception for the rental subsidy package which will be provided only to households currently living in a rented accommodation. The decision has been based on results from REACH Winterization Evaluation 2019-2020, as well as assistance preferences for unconditional, one-off cash assistance mentioned by target population. Furthermore, cash assistance will be carried out through the Hawala system, identified as the most viable and widely spread solution by partners’ a.m. Feasibility Study.

The present response priorities are in line with partners’ past experience and capability, and represent a scale up of current relief activities in the target area. Partners’ current interventions focus on livelihood enhancement with a focus on natural resources utilization and response to shocks increased access to savings and investments for business development. Thus, the action aims at enlarging partners’ reach by supporting vulnerable households with winter prepositioning assistance.