Emergency Cash for Food assistance to most vulnerable IPC 3 and and 4 population in Paghman district of Kabul province The combined impact of a series of acute droughts since 2018, the protracted political crisis and conflict that affected the country for over forty years and economic collapse in the second half of 2021 has generated a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions. High acute food insecurity persists across Afghanistan, as a combination of a collapsing economy and drought is depriving nearly 20 million Afghans of food, classified in Crisis or Emergency (IPC Phases 3 or 4), between March and May 2022 (the lean season) as per the recent IPC report. Among these are about 6.6 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and 13 million in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). Afghanistan’s food security situation remains highly concerning, exacerbated by economic decline and high food prices. About 6.6 million people are classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), characterized by large food gaps and/ or employing emergency coping strategies to access food. For the first time since the introduction of IPC in Afghanistan, Catastrophe conditions (IPC Phase 5) were detected for 20,000 people, immediate action is needed to prevent further deterioration.

As a compounding negative factor, a weak to moderate La Niña event has been affecting Afghanistan since October 2021. Precipitation anomaly experienced at the start of season which has led to below average precipitation, still exists across most parts of the country. Additionally, low soil moisture and low snow water volumes have already led to moisture stress in the northern wheat belt. As result of the below average wet season, its expected that the upcoming harvest will be below average. The deficit in production will further push many households into acute food insecurity in many provinces including Kabul. As per the recent IPC report, 50% of people in Kabul rural are in crisis and emergency food security situation. The analysis shows that 15% of people in Kabul are in IPC phase 4 and 35% in IPC phase 3 needing urgent humanitarian food assistance.

APWDO, through this project aims to improve vulnerable food insecure IPC phase 3 and 4 households’ access to food by providing cash for food assistance. Through this project, APWDO will provide cash for food assistance to 1,230 households (8,610 acutely food insecure individuals) in Paghman district of Kabul province. Based on the cluster standards and the allocation strategy paper, every eligible household will receive monthly USD 60 (75% of the FSAC recommended cash basket) over a period of 6 months. Each eligible vulnerable household in total will receive USD 360 ($60*6=$360). The cash will be distributed on monthly basis over a period of 6 months. 

The proposed assistance will help affected and vulnerable households to meet their immediate food needs. Cash is selected as the most suitable assistance delivery method since markets in Paghman district of Kabul are functional. APWDO will contract a financial service provider to take the cash to the field and distribute it for the eligible beneficiaries. Women and child headed households, households not having a working man, people with disability and other extreme vulnerable groups will be selected for assistance. Accessibility support will be provided for heads of households that are not able to reach the distribution sites. 

The proposed project harnesses the current functionality of markets in Paghman, but through regular market assessments prior to distribution, APWDO will ensure the relevance of the model and adjust accordingly if necessary. The market assessment results will feed into the CVWG-supported JMMI. After final round of cash distribution, a Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) will be conducted to assess the impact of the support and identify areas for better delivery protocols in the future.