Procurement and Prepositioning of Core Supplies for WASH Response The humanitarian context at the end of 2021 has deteriorated in all aspects, with increased needs for more people across Afghanistan. The country is facing the second drought in four years and the worst of its kind in 27 years. Unlike the last drought that was relatively localized in the western region, the current drought is impacting one-third of the country (all targeted provinces considered to be at medium risk as per WASH Cluster) (WASH Cluster Drought Response). Recent political developments with financial restrictions have pushed Afghanistan into an economic crisis. This had immediate repercussions across an economy already facing daunting development challenges (ECHO HIP). The increased poverty and lack of financial means will force many households to prioritize expenses, increasing the likelihood of insufficient hygiene items being bought by families in need. Proper hygiene education and availability of hygiene items are strictly linked with good health conditions because the use of soap and safe water storage capabilities are the best preventive measures for transmissible diseases. The lack of hygiene and functioning water systems has led to the recent outbreak of AWD that is involving communities in Kabul, Kapisa, Zabul, Kandahar, and Laghman provinces (WHO). COVID-19 continues to be a serious threat in Afghanistan. Different waves of the pandemic have torn through the country with the arrival of new variants and poor preventative measures in place. As of 5 December 2021, more than 157,000 COVID-19 cases were confirmed across Afghanistan and some 7312 deaths were reported (WHO).
DACAAR proposed project aims to directly contribute to the prevention and containment of the COVID 19 and AWD outbreaks and to improve the overall hygiene conditions of at-risk populations by procuring, prepositioning, and making available WASH supplies as a core WASH pipeline supply in support of WASH Cluster partners. 
Given that this is a stockpiling project and the distribution of the supplies will be undertaken by other WASH partners, the target beneficiaries will not be assessed by DACAAR but by partners. DACAAR will report on the beneficiaries based on reports from WASH partners who accessed the stockpiles. DACAAR will procure and preposition 10,600 Hygiene Kits that will empower WASH Cluster partners to reach 74,200 people in need. DACAAR will also procure 10,600 kettles to boil water and 5,300 home-based handwashing stations. The Hygiene kits will be stocked in the following six strategic geographical hubs: Kabul Kandahar city Herat city Mazar-e-Sharif Kunduz city and Jalalabad with the potential of being moved to locations where the need is greatest. DACAAR will maintain sufficient flexibility to transfer supplies among the warehouses. Partners can readily access available stock of hygiene kits for use in their response projects based on approval from the WASH Cluster.  Procurement of the items will be performed as part of a comprehensive Invitation to Bid (ITB) per each required unit, processed following DACAAR procurement procedures (attached) which is in line with AHF procurement regulations. The ITB process will include a market assessment enabling DACAAR to identify and contract the cheapest bidder who can deliver the highest quality of the required items. Procured items will be checked stringently to ensure the highest quality (e.g. given recent lessons learned from the sector on fake Dettol soap in the market). The following will be performed during the ITB to ensure the quality of the items procured
- Physical Description: Based on experience and technical know-how, the assigned technical colleagues know the physical attribute of the quality required and check the delivered units accordingly.
- Industrial Standards Certificate/ Proving Documents: - The bidders are usually asked for the required documents.
- Legal Import:  DACAAR buys legally imported items having proper custom.