Protection response  to GBV survivors in Herat and Helmand The areas targeted under this project already had protection concerns and that has significantly increased in the COVID-19 pandemic situation and associated lockdown. Oxfam and OWH proposes a structured and timely response to the increased protection needs of IDPs, returnees and host communities in Herat and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan. Oxfam aims to assist 38,320 individuals (15,328 women, 11,496 men, 7664 girls and 3832 boys) who are severely affected by conflicts, flood, drought and Covid-19, by providing protection and Gender Based Violence (GBV) services which include a multisector response (legal, safety, health and psychosocial) through door-to door outreach and referrals that facilitate community based specialized services. Women and girls’ survivors are provided with dignity kits in Women Friendly Health Spaces (WFHS), information dissemination through media broadcasts on women rights to increase awareness, GBV and case management, referral and follow up of protection cases. Oxfam will adopt an integrated approach, leveraging protection activities aligned with the priorities laid out in the AHF 5th Reserve Allocation-2020 with the eventual objective of recovery and resilience-building in the target communities. Provision of immediate protection assistance will alleviate suffering of beneficiaries in a gender sensitive manner and increase their resilience. The protection activities based on identified needs on the ground will be implemented in Hirat Province: (Kush e Robat Sangi , Zinda Jan, Adrakshan amp Ghoryan) and Helmand Province: (Nad Ali, Grishk, Lashkar Gah and Nawe Barakzai) The main objectives of the project are to: save lives, alleviate suffering and protect human dignity for the most vulnerable, support people to build their resilience and increase capacity on human rights and women’s rights to reduce protection violations, are reduced and respect for international humanitarian law(IHL) is increased through protection services. Oxfam’s protection program provides practical protection support, through Women Friendly Health Spaces (WFHS), psychosocial, legal services, referral of beneficiaries with protection concerns to other service providers, door to door mobile outreach and community based right information dissemination. Oxfam amp OHW has achieved concrete successes in environments such as Herat and Helmand provinces and has an established presence in these provinces while to build on this work, Oxfam will use the AHF 5th Reserved Allocation-2020-21 funding to increase the scope and scale of its protection activities, and to conduct broaden right awareness through media broadcasting in TV/radio programming to a wider population. AHF 5th RA 2020-21’s contribution to this project will support returnees, displaced and host communities to undertake protection services ( Psychosocial/Legal, referrals amp follow up of protection cases, community right awareness raising, mobile outreach and train community based protection committees (CBPC) for sustainability of the project.
Oxfam amp OWH will provide training and sensitization on International Humanitarian law (IHL) and protection to a majority of individuals in the affected communities whom are unaware of the available referral systems and GBV mitigation strategies in order to increase awareness on GBV risks, available referral pathways and mitigation strategies. Oxfam and OHW will establish 4 women friendly health spaces, community dialogues and mobile community outreach which will support protection responses in wider communities.