Food assistance for IPC phase 3 and 4 food insecure vulnerable people in Daykundi province. According to the most recent Spring Disaster Contingency Plan – March 2021, 384,000 people in Daykundi province require emergency assistance to cope with overlapping challenges including a potential La Niña-driven drought. Considering below average snowfalls and winter precipitations, and high temperatures associated with a La Niña weather event, drought-like conditions are likely to have a significant impact over spring cultivations, causing a production deficit and increasing vulnerabilities. Based on a range of weighted indicators, the province has been classified with a high level of risk of drought (2.45 score) among 25 most affected provinces in Afghanistan with 60% of the population projected to be in IPC 3+ during the period June-November 2021.
Additionally, emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC 4) were recorded in the province, especially in rural areas, during the post-harvest analysis of August 2020 and March 2021. Small-holder farmers have long seen their food stocks exhausted after the long winter, and are already faced with the necessity of adopting negative coping strategies. Thus, CG through its sub-IPs OHW, RCDC, CAWC propose to provide unconditional and unrestricted cash assistance to 2,629 households (18,400 individuals) in Sharestan, Miramor and Ashtarlay districts of Daykundi province, so to allow project participants to cover their basic food needs.
Partners have envisaged to provide spring assistance to vulnerable people classified in IPC 3+ by the recent IPC Analysis, so to prevent displacement in Daykundi rural districts, in line with the Spring Disaster Contingency Plan – March 2021 priorities and cluster standardized assistance package.

In line with FSAC priorities, CG and its three sub-implementing partners OHW, RCDC and CAWC propose to provide 900 HHs (6,300 individuals) in Sharestan, 914 HHs (6,400 individuals) in Miramor and 815 HHs (5,700 individuals) in Ashtarlay with in-cash assistance (value of 180USD distributed for the equivalent local currency in AFN at project start) aimed at meeting household food needs for a duration of 4 months, as per cluster standards. The cash assistance will be distributed in two instalments along a period of 3 months.

Cash assistance has been envisaged as unconditional and unrestricted. The decision has been based on results from partners needs assessment and identification of food as the main household priority. Moreover, cash has been identified by target populations as the preferred assistance modality and markets have been assessed as accessible and safe for both males and females. Findings from winterization assistance PDM among the same communities point out how distribution in instalments is the preferred modality, allowing households to plan for their expenditures. Furthermore, cash assistance will be carried out through the Hawala system, identified as the most viable and widely spread solution by partners’ Feasibility Study.

The present response priorities are in line with partners’ past experience and capability, and represent a scale up of relief and winterization emergency activities in the target area. Partners’ recent interventions put an emphasis on livelihood enhancement with a focus on natural resources utilization, youth mobilization, WASH and shelter repairs and women empowerment fostering income generating activities. Thus, the action aims at enlarging partners’ reach by supporting vulnerable households in dire food insecurity with cash assistance.