Emergency cash support for acutely IPC phase 3 and 4 food insecure households in Nawa-e-Barakzai district of Hilmand province Afghanistan is currently one of the world’s most acute and complex humanitarian crises, with 24 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2022. 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), latest IPC data shows. Among these are about 6.6 million people in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and 13 million in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). The 6.6 million people classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), are 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 too. 

Against this fragile backdrop, JACK is proposing an eight-month project to support 980 acutely food insecure IPC phase 3 and 4 households (6,860 individuals) in Nawa-e Barakzai district of Hilmand province through unconditional cash for food assistance to cover households’ basic food needs over a period of 6 months. As per Food Security and Agriculture Cluster (FSAC) recommendation, JACK will distribute the cash on a monthly basis via a pre-contracted financial service provider (FSP). The total transfer value (USD 360/HH) is aligned with the FSAC cash-based food basket for Afghanistan (2022) and is based on the AHF 1st Standard Allocation Strategy. Over a period of 6 months and in 6 installments, every household will receive $60 per month to cover their food needs. Target district is proposed by FSAC, considering the high need for food security interventions documented by the latest IPC analysis. 

Cash has been selected as the most effective modality to meet project beneficiaries' food needs given the proven functionality and accessibility of markets and basic commodities for target communities. The proposed cash assistance will allow the target population continuous access to markets to purchase fresh, staple food, leading to an expected improvement in food consumption at the household level and reduced reliance on negative coping mechanisms. The multiplier effect of such cash interventions on stimulating the local economy will be critical in the country’s short-to-mid-term economic recovery.

The proposed intervention aligns with Strategic Objective 1 (SO1.2) of the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) 2022: Timely, multi-sectoral, lifesaving, equitable and safe assistance is provided to crisis-affected people of all genders and diversities to reduce mortality and morbidity, which aims to improve access to life saving nutrition services for people facing acute food insecurity and malnutrition. JACK will closely coordinate with target communities, national and provincial-level authorities, and emergency actors and ensure a principled approach to humanitarian assistance. JACK will apply a protection lens to all activities and maintain the Do No Harm principle throughout all stages of the intervention.