Shelter support for populations affected by flood and conflict in Herat. The recent conflict, increased droughts and the pandemic and economic crisis have had an immense impact on the safety and living standards of the people in Afghanistan. More than 24.4 million people require multi-sectoral assistance to cope with future challenges and the recent situation. According to the latest Humanitarian Response Plan, 10.9 million people will be in need of shelter related assistance in 2022. Considering the foreseen seasonal floods, which will be starting in April, more shelters are expected to be damaged in the coming months with families being displaced and needs further increasing for the already distressed population in the project area. This further stresses the acute need for NFI’s, repairs of shelters, and transitional shelters in Herat.

Thus, Caritas Germany (CG) and its three sub-IPs Development and Humanitarian Services for Afghanistan (DHSA), Organization of Human Welfare (OHW), and Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (RRAA) will be implementing a shelter assistance project for the households affected by natural disasters or conflict in the Herat province. Through the provision of conditional cash for the shelter and technical expertise, 724 households (5,068 individuals) affected by natural disasters or conflict in Herat province, in the districts of Shindand, Zawol, Gulran, Hirat City, and Guzara, shall be supported with constructing or upgrading their housing. Out of these 724 families, 79 shall benefit from cash for the erection of transitional shelter since their housing has been destroyed or falls in the Damage Category (DC) A. 643 households shall benefit from cash for the repair of shelter that falls in the DC B, and 2 households shall benefit from cash support for reparations of shelters that fall in the DC C. In addition, the target groups will benefit from continuous support from technical engineers throughout the construction process. Thereby, DRR mainstreaming and risk mitigation measures will be considered throughout the project implementation. This includes DRR mainstreaming in construction, including the improved usage of water and natural resources, but also providing knowledge and skills to mitigate risks in terms of future natural disasters. Embedded in this, communities will furthermore gain the necessary skills to repair damages themselves.


The present response priorities are in line with partners’ previous experience and capability and represent a scale-up of shelter relief in the target areas. DHSA has implemented shelter projects financed by UNHCR between 2001 and 2014 (19 projects) in different provinces of northern Afghanistan. OHW also has long-lasting experience in implementation of shelter and WASH projects funded by UNHCR, OXFAM, Cordaid, Actionaid international and other international agencies in southern and eastern regions of the country, while RRAA also hold sufficient experience with shelter projects funded by international donors. Besides, the engagement of CG adds an additional layer of monitoring and technical support for the IPs. Moreover, institutional capacity development is a core component of CG´s engagement with local partners.
The program aims at building strong links to other existing projects in the project area, focusing on Food Security, Protection, WASH and Livelihoods to complement this intervention and provide multi-sector assistance to project participants to better cope with the current situation.