Support for shelter improvement in Dag Tarakhil A number of IDPs and returnees live in substandard shelters that provide limited or no protection from the elements and expose them to heightening protection risks. Some of the most vulnerable families live under these shelter conditions as a coping strategy during resettlement caused due to armed conflict or following a natural disaster while others remain for a longer time. While most of these shelter conditions can be found in Informal Settlements, conflict-affected areas, and areas prone to natural disasters, assessments have shown that those in the communities also live in similar conditions. While the humanitarian assistance measures continue to provide short-term immediate shelter response in the form of cash for rent and the standard emergency shelter kits, minimum support is being provided to those living in poor shelter conditions until a medium-term or durable solution is found. Families living in these conditions are very vulnerable: often insufficiently protected from the physical and environmental elements, with no privacy due to overcrowding and no ability to close a door to keep the family safe at night. This is a particular shelter and protection concern, especially for vulnerable families should be addressed with shelter action.

The proposed action enables protection and durable solutions for shelter through the repair and construction of shelters that are damaged due to conflict or natural disasters. The actions proposed are in line with the Emergency Shelter/Non-Food Item (ES/NFI) Cluster’s 2022 strategy, projected need under HRP, and 2022 1st Allocation strategy.

UN-Habitat is targeting 4565 families for shelter repair and construction of transitional shelter works. In-kind assistance would be provided by purchasing materials and equipment. Cash assistance would be provided for shelter repair. The proposed intervention will target families in Dab Tarakhail village in Kabul.

Cash for Shelter repair Minor (Cat C-Minor repairs): 3347 families are targeted under this component equivalent of (3347 families x 330USD) will be disbursed to supported families conditional to completing a set percentage of construction work agreed with the families through an MoU and in line with the project set criteria.

Cash for Shelter repair Minor (Cat B- Major repairs): 912 families are targeted under this component equivalent of (912 families x 550USD) will be disbursed to supported families conditional to completing a set percentage of construction work agreed with the families through an MoU and in line with the project set criteria.

Cash for Construction of transitional shelter (Cat A): 304 families are targeted under this component equivalent of (304 families x 1,472USD) will be disbursed to supported families conditional to completing a set percentage of construction work agreed with the families through an MoU and in line with the project set criteria.

The proposed intervention targets beneficiaries from Dag Tarakhail village in Kabul. They will be reached multiple complementary methodologies (i) KII and RAM assessment, (ii) referrals from other partners, and (iii) field staff conducting using the house to house surveys using Kobo tools, data collection, and photo survey of the damage to properties.

UN-Habitat has agreements and modalities for cash disbursement in place and has used the services of banks such as AIB for the disbursement of cash to beneficiaries in ongoing projects. UN secretariat has established a cash delivery channel through AIB in Afghanistan since December 2021. UN-Habitat has used this facility to process payments of cash for work projects for more than 2000 laborers in Mazar and Kandahar in 2022. In locations where such services are not available, UN-Habitat will conduct market assessments to identify the best financial services following financial guidelines.