Emergency WASH assistance to potential drought and conflict-affected communities in Afghanistan On May 1st, 2021, the US and NATO troops officially begun their withdrawal from Afghanistan. This, together with the stalemate between the Afghan government and the Taliban at the peace table has escalated the conflict across most of the country. Fighting almost halted only for three days during the Eid festivity but they started again immediately after it. 
Diminished precipitation during the La Niña period has triggered a water scarcity crisis. Drought has not yet been officially declared however, abnormally low precipitation is likely to affect overall access to water and agricultural output in impoverished rural areas. For many impacted communities, it has become a challenge to acquire enough water for drinking, hygiene and food production (agriculture and livestock). In the context of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient water, including sanitation and hygiene, has placed communities at a heightened risk of infectious and waterborne diseases, including COVID-19 and Acute Watery Diarrhoea. 
Against this background, 250,000 people are anticipated to become internally displaced between March and June because of intensifying conflict. In addition to this, within the same period of time, more than 230,000 undocumented migrants and refugee returnees are expected to cross back into Afghanistan and require humanitarian assistance (2nd Reserve Allocation 2021, Allocation Strategy Paper). 
In 2020, expanded demand and scaled-up outreach by the WASH Cluster have created an urgent need for replenishment of hygiene kits, handwashing stations and water kits. The water supply infrastructure needs repair and rehabilitation because of damage from conflict and disasters and increased strain due to low precipitation. 
All these factors have contributed to an increased displacement of the population and have dramatically raised the number of people in need of humanitarian interventions.
To respond to the above situation, DACAAR, as part of the proposed project, will provide WASH assistance to 52,500 affected people, as follow:
a. Rehabilitation of 500 non-functional water points and in case some water points are beyond repair, construction of new water point or as a last resort, emergency trucking of safe water. In addition, DACAAR will run a groundwater early monitoring system to collect and provide data on groundwater availability to better inform relevant stakeholders and their WASH programmes.
b. Distribution of 3000 hygiene kits to targeted beneficiaries alongside the provision of hygiene education covering topics as Covid-19, personal hygiene, safe water transport and storage, handwashing and waste management. In addition, to strengthen hygiene practices and encourage handwashing with soap, DACAAR will install 20 handwashing facilities with functional water systems in public places. 
c. Construction of 100 emergency latrines and 100 emergency baths (EBLs) aiming at promoting good hygiene and sanitation practices to prevent the spread of illnesses such as acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and Covid-19
d. Procurement and pre-positioning of 5000 hygiene kits and other key WASH items in four strategic locations for the WASH Cluster core pipeline, that can be used by the Cluster's partners
e. Gender/Protection sensitive WASH support for GBV mitigation. DACAAR female staff will consult women and adolescent girls on WASH access related to gender and GBV concerns. EBLs and water points locations will be agreed upon with the local community, considering, in particular, the needs and demands of female, elderly and disabled beneficiaries.