Emergency WASH assistance to drought and conflict-affected communities in Afghanistan Between the end of July and the beginning of August, the Afghan conflict intensified, resulting in the collapse of the government and the IEA becoming the power holder in the country.
Diminished precipitation during the La Niña period has triggered a water scarcity crisis. The President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officially declared a drought on 22 June, indicating that 30 per cent of the country is exposed to severe drought, 50 per cent to serious drought and another 20 per cent to moderate drought. For many impacted communities, it has become a challenge to acquire enough water for drinking, hygiene and food production (agriculture and livestock). In the context of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, insufficient water, including sanitation and hygiene, has placed communities at a heightened risk of infectious and waterborne diseases, including COVID-19 and Acute Watery Diarrhoea. 
Against this background, since the end of May, the number of people internally displaced because of conflict and in need of immediate humanitarian aid more than doubled, reaching 550,000 (Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) on Afghanistan). In addition to this, undocumented returns are at record high levels, 638,000 into Afghanistan, since January (3rd Reserve Allocation 2021 Allocation Strategy Paper). In 2020, expanded demand and scaled-up outreach by the WASH Cluster have created an urgent need for replenishment of hygiene kits, handwashing stations and water kits. The water supply infrastructure needs repair and rehabilitation because of damage from conflict and disasters and increased strain due to low precipitation. 
All these factors have contributed to an increased displacement of the population and have dramatically raised the number of people in need of humanitarian interventions.
To respond to the above situation, DACAAR, as part of the proposed project, will provide WASH assistance to 60,200 affected people, as follow:
a. Rehabilitation of 300 non-functional water points and 6 pipe scheme systems and in case some water points are beyond repair, construction of new water point or as a last resort, emergency trucking of safe water. In addition, DACAAR will run a groundwater early monitoring system to collect and provide data on groundwater availability to better inform relevant stakeholders and their WASH programmes.
b. Distribution of 600 hygiene kits to targeted beneficiaries alongside the provision of hygiene education covering topics as Covid-19, personal hygiene, safe water transport and storage, handwashing and waste management. In addition, to strengthen hygiene practices and encourage handwashing with soap.
c. Procurement and pre-positioning of 6000 hygiene kits in strategic locations for the WASH Cluster core pipeline, that can be used by the Cluster's partners
d. Gender/Protection sensitive WASH support for GBV mitigation. DACAAR female staff will consult women and adolescent girls on WASH access related to gender and GBV concerns. Water points and reservoir locations will be agreed upon with the local community, considering, in particular, the needs and demands of female, elderly and disabled beneficiaries.