Inter-Agency Information Centre (Awaaz Afghanistan) - Promoting Collective Accountability and Community Engagement in Afghanistan Awaaz Afghanistan (Awaaz) as the inter-agency information centre promotes collective accountability and community engagement by facilitating a real-time two-way flow of information between Afghan populations affected by conflict, violence, natural disaster and displacement, and the entire humanitarian community.

In 2022, Awaaz will continue providing a reliable two-way information relay between affected people and humanitarian responders to help combat the impact of the economic fallout, drought, sporadic flooding, conflict and COVID-19 as outlined in HNO 2022. Since its inception in 2018, Awaaz has handled more than 201,000 calls from all 34 provinces of the country.  

As a collective and cross-sectoral project, Awaaz provides a nationwide and toll-free hotline and can share location-relevant information with affected people in line with needs on an ad-hoc basis, as well as to monitor and share relevant information on emerging needs and issues reported from the ground with respective partners. Strengthening Awaaz as the central remote feedback channel is considered a top Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP) priority and need in the country, which becomes even more crucial when areas become (temporarily) inaccessible due to conflicts or shocks inflicted by natural disasters. At full capacity, Awaaz can communicate directly with over 4,000 Afghans per month from the entire country, or indirectly with 28,000 Afghans (based on an average family size of seven). However, the number of indirect beneficiaries is likely much higher as one caller may be calling in on behalf of an entire community (i.e. community leaders).

Functioning as a cross-network, toll-free call centre, by dialling 410, any Afghan with access to a mobile phone can speak to one of eight operators in either Dari, Pashto, Urdu or English, to access information on or lodge feedback about the ongoing humanitarian interventions around the country. Relaying this self-identification of needs and priorities to the humanitarian community (disaggregated by gender, age, location and needs) promotes the integration of beneficiaries’ feedback into the programme cycle and endorses the Grand Bargain’s commitment to the participation revolution. Additionally, Awaaz sets its AAP targets in line with the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and the HRP’s efforts to support effective coordination through the Cluster system under the leadership of the Humanitarian Coordinator (HC). 

With the uncertain and unstable situation in the country, slow- and sudden-onset crises looming, a deterioration to the protection environment is anticipated during and beyond 2022. By communicating feedback in real-time, Awaaz can support humanitarian partners’ capacity to detect and respond to needs and provide lifesaving emergency interventions. As such, Awaaz requires funding from the AHF to continue providing the following vital services upon which the delivery of an effective, coordinated and accountable humanitarian response in Afghanistan depends:
 The immediate relay of accurate information that enables informed decision making, especially in times of crises, whether natural or man-made, when at-risk communities are further exposed to protection violations
 The rapid processing of urgent protection concerns, including allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), as well as International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) violations
 The reporting of self-identified needs, priorities, and vulnerabilities that can help ensure programmes deliver immediate and effective assistance to prevent the loss of life
 The opening up of hard-to-reach areas especially in times of sudden crises to support the humanitarian community’s ability to assess and respond to needs in underserved areas
 The support of monitoring efforts to ensure assistance is provided in a principled and dignified manner to all populations in need, equally.