Emergency response to humanitarian needs for food, shelter/non-food and education support of displaced and conflict-affected communities in Sagaing Region This proposal describes a project to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in Sagaing Region through the provision of multi-purpose cash assistance and education support to at least 12,955 people (3,980 men, 4,441 women, 2,143 boys, and 2,391 girls) displaced by armed conflict after February 2021 through a partnership of three local organizations, which will build on existing project partnerships to expand coverage. In response to needs identified by displaced and conflict-affected communities in Sagaing Region and in line with objectives set out in the Humanitarian Response Plan and allocation priorities, the project will primarily seek to address food, shelter and non-food, and education needs. To achieve this, the partnering organizations are coordinating with and will work through community-led structures, such as village and school committees.

The project has been designed based on inputs from affected populations, as well as consultations with relevant clusters and the Cash Working Group, and in coordination with other humanitarian actors. As a result, we are not aware of any significant overlap with support provided by other organizations. The project further conforms with strategies and recommended approaches by clusters, e.g. to distribute more than one round of assistance (Food Security and Livelihood Cluster), and to mainstream GBV prevention in cash-based programming (Cash Working Group). In the nine townships targeted by the project, the partners expect to reach around 7% of the displaced population. The project will provide multi-purpose cash assistance as cash-in-envelope calculated based on the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket. Community-led education structures will be supported through the provision of teacher stipends and training as well as support for student supplies. By working through community-structures and with local organizations with direct access to affected communities, the project will significantly strengthen local actors' resilience and capacity to respond to emergencies, and the ability of communities to protect themselves. With 85% of the overall budget earmarked to be directly provided as support to targeted communities, and an estimated average cost of USD 54.03 per individual reached, the project is highly competitive in comparison with other humanitarian projects and HRP cost-per-beneficiary targets.

The organizations partnering in this proposal, the Center for Social Integrity (CSI), the Chindwin Medical Network (CMN) and the Chindwin Humanitarian Network (CHN) have designed this project together and in consultation with affected communities. Since March 2022, CSI and CMN have been providing health care services to conflict-affected communities in the same townships targeted in this project. CHN has been providing humanitarian assistance funded through individual and civil society donations and established a network of township focal points to coordinate with target communities. These structures enable continued access to the targeted hard-to-reach communities. CSI has been implementing projects in Myanmar since its inception in 2017, and has successfully implemented more than three projects funded directly by the MHF. In this project, CMN and CHN will be responsible for providing assistance to beneficiaries with the technical and management guidance and support services from CSI.

The project has been designed based on needs identified and prioritized by affected communities, with consideration of the needs, issues and barriers faced by different groups in the affected population, specifically different gender, age and disability groups. The project is based on humanitarian principles, the SPHERE standards, the Joint Operating Standards, and further aligned with conflict sensitivity principles as well as Do No Harm. Protection is mainstreamed throughout project design and implementation structures, and EORE is integrated as part of larger education activities.