Building Resilience of Displaced and Most Vulnerable Populations The project goal is to “build resilient communities for Afghan conflict-affected internally displaced peoples and most vulnerable households in host communities through support to food security and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) activities”. This will be realized through 2 objectives: Objective 1 aims to reach a total of 2,400 households (16,800 individuals) with short term cash transfer intervention to help them meet their basic food needs. Objective 2 aims to improve hygiene and sanitation knowledge and practices in target areas.

Considering the critical needs (identified through Save the Children’s rapid assessment) of targeted beneficiaries in 3 districts (Khowaja Sabz Posh, Pashton Kut, and Dawlatabad) of Faryab province and 3 districts (Rodat, Kuz Kunar, and Momandarar) of Nangarhar province, Save the Children International (SCI) plans to implement an emergency response project with 2 major components of WASH and food security to support internally displaced populations, who have been affected from recent conflicts in Faryab and Nangarhar.

Under Objective 1, SCI, using our long-term experience with implementation of cash-based interventions in Afghanistan, will be targeting specific pockets of vulnerability in conflict-affected areas of Faryab and Nangarhar provinces. Since 2009, SCI has been implementing cash transfer projects in the different provinces of Bamyan, Nangarhar, Sar-i-Pul, Balkh, Faryab, Nangarhar, and Urozgan Afghanistan.

SCI will provide the project beneficiaries with unconditional cash grants to help them meet their basic food needs. All project beneficiaries will be eligible for 2 months cash transfers at 5,100 AFN per month. This monthly payment is estimated to be sufficient to cover 100% of the cost of a monthly food basket based on a rapid market assessment conducted by SCI in both Faryab and Nangarhar in May, 2016 and suggested by Food Security and Agriculture Cluster.

In order to create opportunities for improving our efficiency and impact and to reduce the resources, time, and risks associated with physical cash distribution, SCI intends to use a mobile transfer technology to transfer cash to beneficiaries. SCI completed the implementation of a CHF-funded cash transfer project in Faryab and Balkh provinces in November, 2015 to March, 2016. It is worth noting that there were several challenges faced with transporting cash to insecure areas as these was transported directly by SCI staff. Considering such learning and for further improvement of the impacts of our programming, SCI as part of its rapid needs assessment in Faryab and Nangarhar (conducted in May, 2016) met with mobile service providers, such as ROSHAN were able to confirm both that the service providers operate in target districts of Faryab and Nangarhar and have sufficient capacity and willingness to participate in project implementation.

Under Objective 2, SCI aims to improve hygiene and sanitation knowledge and practices of the IDPs in the target areas. To enable this, access to safe drinking water shall be increased through the rehabilitation of existing and nonfunctional water points. The water quality of such existing and nonfunctional water points shall be tested from main water sources, collection and transportation vessels and at storage points. In order to maintain water quality, remedial action via chlorination or household level water treatment shall be carried-out. Hygiene promotion activities shall be supported through the provision of training sessions on good hygiene practices and dissemination of information and educational messages within the targeted communities of Faryab and Nangarhar. Hygiene kits will be distributed to 2,400 vulnerable households and campaigns will also be conducted covering hand washing, ORS, prevention of waterborne diseases and other positive hygiene practices.