Pillars III: Provision of integrated Food Security and WASH Assistance through a protection lens to 4,470 Persons in Zahle, and Digital Innovation enhancing AAP to 15000 Persons and 5 NGOs Nationwide ltpgtlt/pgtltp style="" class=""gtltspan style="font-family:"gtThe proposed area-based approach seeks
to implement a comprehensive and integrated intervention targeting the most vulnerable
and food insecure 4,470 Lebanese and refugees and persons of
concern at direct protection risk in collective shelters within the Zahle district.
The project promotes localization, it is co-designed and will be co-implemented by Farah
Social Foundation (FSF) and Solidarités International (SI) and will incorporate
a strong protection and gender approach by coordinating with key actors in the
area. The objective of the intervention is to address immediate life-saving
needs of the most vulnerable people affected by the Lebanese crisis, combining food assistance with nutrition and hygiene support, protection and
gender mainstreaming being at the forefront of the intervention. The project
will primarily focus on Bar Elias, Qabb Elias, Saadnayel, and Kfarzabad
cadasters in Zahle district, designated vulnerable areas, selected after
coordination with other Food Security actors to avoid duplication. The
Food Security component will be achieved through adapted modalities that
include cash-for-food, distribution of food parcels purchased from women-headed
cooperatives, MSMEs and small-scale farmers, and provision of ready-to-eat
meals prepared by women working in existing community kitchens. Distributions will be coupled with Menstrual Hygiene kits for women and girls
at reproductive age, containing essential items for dignified menstrual and
hygiene care. The project will also promote health-seeking and preventive actions in hygiene and nutrition.  The response aims to strengthen coordination
and referrals between protection, GBV, WASH and Food Security partners to
ensure a holistic provision of assistance. lt/spangtlt/pgtltp style="" class=""gtltspan style="font-family:"gtFurthermore, the intervention aims
to provide a tailored capacity-building plan for FSF. Based on
an assessment exercise conducted by SI, the need to have an established functional MEAL and AAP department within FSF was flagged. SI will closely collaborate with FSF in delivering a series of sessions, focusing on
specific MEAL and AAP subjects. Throughout the duration of the
project, SI and FSF will continue to support each other, applying lessons learned and capitalizing on the knowledge gained.lt/spangtlt/pgt

ltp style="text-align:justify"gtltspan style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif"gtMoreover, crisis-affected populations face multiple barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance, expressing their needs, and alerting
humanitarian actors about potential emergencies. This is prevalent among
vulnerable groups, particularly women, and people with specific needs and
disabilities, who are often lacking social capital, community network, and the
ability to get adequate support. It is the responsibility of humanitarian
actors to reduce such barriers, and to provide assistance in a safe and
accountable manner. SI is committed to being accountable to affected
communities, and this commitment is translated into efforts to ensure a two-way
communication flow through multiple channels, to guarantee safe and fair access
to services for all those in need who are not reached by traditional AAP
channels. SI has developed the SOLIS Bot, the first
humanitarian WhatsApp Chat Bot to offer users a wide range of services. The proposed
intervention will build on the success of the LHF-funded pilot project and aims
to improve the quality and efficiency of the response, with a specific
focus on PSEAH, for 15,000 beneficiaries nationwide. SI will contribute to the
broader humanitarian response and will enable an accountable, evidence-based
and inclusive assistance by scaling up digital innovation and sharing best
practices and lessons learnt with the broader humanitarian community, paying a
particular attention to children and people with specific needs and disabilities,
with the four organizations that were testing the tool in 2022-2023. As part of
its localization strategy and accountability commitment, SI will introduce and
operationalize the SOLIS Bot to FSF, enabling them to strengthen their AAP and PSEAH systems.lt/spangtlt/pgtltp class="sceditor-nlf"gtltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtlt/pgt