WASH Humanitarian Response to Vulnerable IDPs and Host Communities in Farah Province The proposed project will target vulnerable and underserved communities including, conflict and drought-affected IDPs and host communities in areas of highest needs in the Sia Jangal and Ganj Abad villages of Bala Buluk district, Farah Province. The project, implemented directly by the OCHR, continuing recent and long-standing interventions in these areas, is aligned with the AHF 1st SA Strategy Priorities, and Afghanistan Spring Disaster Contingency Plan (Mar-June 2021) and has been coordinated through relevant fora, notably the WASH Cluster. 
Targeting 1,814 vulnerable Households-HHs (12,698 individuals) under the WASH humanitarian assistance, OCHR proposes to provide a combination of water, sanitation, and hygiene promotion activities in targeted areas. The same beneficiaries are targeted for ESNFI humanitarian response and already endorsed by the ESFNI cluster for funding. 
The activities will revolve around the priorities as indicated in AHF 1st SA strategy 2022 including 1. Water supply systems rehabilitation or creation of new water points/supply systems, 2. Provision of unconditional cash to HHs for rehabilitation of their sanitation facilities, 3. HH water treatment promotion, 4. Hygiene promotion focuses on handwashing, personal hygiene and MHM, 5. WASH for GBV risk mitigation, for the elderly and people with disabilities.
It is critical in this moment in time to provide immediate support to underserved and vulnerable communities that are affected by armed conflict and drought: 
- In order to prevent further displacement: a significant number of communities are leaving their homes to search for water. 
- In order to prevent AWD cases: a surge in AWD and cholera has been reported recently which is expected to reach to its peak during spring through summer season due to lack of access to sufficient WASH facilities. 
- In order to prevent communities from falling into deeper poverty. And to ensure that the conditions of women and girls do not degenerate deep poverty and deprivation have a heavy toll on women and girls, often more vulnerable and more exposed to risks, especially GBV.
To meet the need for sufficient and safe water, 40 existing dysfunctional wells will be rehabilitated, and five solar powered piped schemes will be constructed. Placement of water points within the communities will reduce the burden on women and girls, who currently spend on average more than 20 minutes one-way to reach a water point. For rehabilitation of sanitation facilities, unconditional cash will be provided to the local community to repair existing sanitation facilities. Since the type and degree of damage differs from case to case, an unconditional cash package has been developed that accommodates the prevalent needs. In this regard, OCHR will provide cash assistance comprising a total amount of USD50 per HH that will cover costs for procuring construction materials while community contribution will be acquired for the repairing of the sanitation facilities. Considering the less amount and the need to procure all construction materials at the same time, the cash assistance will be provided in one tranch through bank. Considering the coverage and reliability issues with Hawala and mobile money transfers in Farah province, OCHR already has established contract with a bank that has previously provided similar services to AHF-funded projects in Kunduz province. Beneficiaries will be asked to provide written commitment to OCHR to repair their sanitation facilities. The beneficiary selection process will be based on WASH clusters guidelines.180 hygiene and sanitation promotion sessions will focus on diarrhea prevention strategies, discouraging open defecation, critical times to wash hands with soap, menstrual hygiene management, and safe HH water treatment. The most vulnerable 1,814 families will receive hygiene kits. During kit distributions, orientation on the correct utilization of the items in the kits will take place.