AFJR24-26 - Cordaid implementation Nangarhar Afghanistan faces a complex humanitarian crisis, including economic uncertainty, drought, food insecurity and displacement, that has put more than two-third of the population (29.2mln ppl, revised HRP 2023, up from 18.4mln in 2021) in need of urgent humanitarian assistance to survive, as the country enters its third consecutive year of drought-like conditions and the second year of crippling economic decline, compounded by 40 years of conflict and recurrent natural disasters. Climate-related extreme weather events and natural hazards (including floods, landslides, earthquakes, drought, as well as very cold winters) threaten Afghan livelihoods, exacerbate poverty and food insecurity, and undermine community, family, and individual resilience. They are causing extensive internal displacement and shifting migratory patterns. In 2022, Afghanistan experienced natural disasters towards the upper end of the anticipated scenario for impact, affecting more than 228,000 people. In the first half of 2023, 30 out of 34 provinces were affected by a severe drought, and 7,764 people were affected by disasters throughout Afghanistan. The proportion of households feeling the impact of drought in 2022 was six times greater than in 2020 (22/12/22, WFP). The economic situation in Afghanistan continues to spiral down, although recent indicators suggest a slight stabilization of the economy, with a more stable exchange rate, and reduced inflation, but this happened at a significantly lower level of economic activity. Therefore, there are still high levels of unemployment, and sustained inflation of key commodities have caused the average household debt to increase, challenging people’s coping mechanisms and thwarting the already fragile economy’s ability to adapt to shocks. Additionally, since august 2021 women and girls are banned from active participation in social and economic interventions, and face many challenges due to this; women headed households (FHH) generally are very in bad condition and do not have access even to basic services. Having lower incomes, FHHs consider girls’ education to be more expensive and more frequently resort to making use of their daughters’ work or marrying them earlier than male headed households. However, both types of households agree that the social, cultural and Taliban-imposed restrictions are the main factor for the low school enrolment rates of girls. The women headed households, disabled, and old aged headed families are most vulnerable, because they have no physical power and cultural power to work and gain something for their families. Due to all this, protection threats are also on the rise, especially women and girls are at risk of losing their rights and protection.
Nangarhar: 71% of the population, 1.2M people, are in need of assistance, 49% of which are in extreme need (HNO ’23). With 35% of the population in IPC3+, the province is classified in IPC3. In August ’23 AFJR partners conducted a joint needs assessment, including stakeholder consultations. According to the assessment, 62% of the respondents indicated not to have access to health facilities due to the high cost of care or treatment, lack of transportation, and/or long distance to health facilities. All respondents cited nutrition, vaccination for newborn children and PLW, provision of medicine, treatment of physical and mental disability/injury, diagnosis & treatment of illness as priority health needs. Only 23% confirmed that the women in their households have access to prenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC) services in their communities. 27% of the respondents cited having mental and/or psychological problems, while 97% reported they have no access to psychosocial support services and 83% reported their children not feeling safe in their community. 72% of the respondents reported that due to financial problems, lack of job opportunities and poverty, they are not able to provide for all of the basic needs of the household, an average of 42% reported they are unable to provide for the household basic needs. Only 3% of the respondents had an acceptable Food Consumption Score (FCS), the rest had poor or borderline FCS.
Of the HHs normally reliant on agriculture reported only 6% indicated to have seeds for the next planting season. And 88% of the HH indicated to have no job opportunity, and 72% of the HH indicated that the children also have to work to support, increasing the protection risks of children (e.g. child labor, early marriage, GBV, dropping out of school, physical violence). Access to water is also limited, with only 20% of the HH having access to clean drinking water, and 63% indicated to have no sanitation facilities. 
At the end October and start of November, especially the provinces of Nangarhar and Kandahar have seen many people (forcedly) returning from Pakistan, entering Afghanistan with limited belongings and having no income to support their families. Adding another burden on the already limited services available. As the people are part of the most vulnerable population, they will be included in the targeting criteria for the AFJR. Overall the needs in Afghanistan are everywhere, and the targeted provinces are facing severe needs and gaps, with limited access to health care, wash services and livelihood opportunities. Women and children are bearing the brunt of the crisis, as well as elderly or people with specific needs (disabled, chronically ill), as they are more harmed by limited access to health and wash services, and suffer more from food insecurity. With the current gap in humanitarian funding for Afghanistan, coordination is crucial to ensure there is no duplication, to reach the people most in need, and to analyze the response capacity of other actors in the AFJR targeted areas. 
There are no specific security threats in the targeted provinces. Access however is constraint due to the numerous regulations of the De Facto Authorities (DFA) restricting more and more access to female participation in society. Since end of 2021, the DFA have issued 173 directives concerning humanitarian action, out of which 37 were related to restrictions on female participation (Revised HRP 2023). This is a continued concern for all the humanitarian actors, and continuous negotiation and advocacy is highly needed. AFJR partners will continue to go into dialogue to ensure to provide principled humanitarian assistance, and to address the need for female staff to reach the women in the targeted areas. Humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan -  FSA, WASH and Health. Farmers, Returnees, IPDs and Women HHs