Emergency protection assistance for returning undocumented Afghans and IDPs in Afghanistan Undocumented Afghan migrants are at risk of exploitation and abuse during and after return to Afghanistan, including trafficking, gender-based violence and family separation. IOM Protection programme supports at-risk undocumented returnees to return and reintegrate safely and with dignity, through the provision of tailored assistance at border provinces Herat and Nimroz and continue provision of care in provinces of return. 

This project, co-funded with other funding sources, will provide protection screening and post-arrival assistance in Herat and Nimroz, including provision of information, referrals to specialised services, and in-kind assistance such as family tracing, emergency accommodation, care assistance for vulnerable persons including persons with disabilities, care packages and air and road transport to returnees’ chosen final destinations. For continuation of care, safe and dignified reintegration of vulnerable undocumented returnees is supported further through protection case management in final destinations. Following in-depth case assessments, households will be supported through the dissemination of key protection information, referrals to local specialised services, and one-off assistance such as cash for food and winterisation (during winter) by a designated money service provider. Given ongoing issues in the banking sector, cash based interventions (CBI) have advantages such as reduced response time, lower costs, and allowing the recipients to prioritize what to purchase and take decisions based on their own needs and preferences. The allocation for this project will cover operations starting from Herat and Nimroz (per the allocation strategy) that continue with case management assistance in Kabul, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Badakhshan, Balkh, Faryab, Ghor, Sar-E-Pul and Takhar. The AHF programme funds will start with and focus on the assistance provided in Herat and Nimroz but necessarily include assistance in these other target provinces of return, in line with the protection programme's approach to continuity of care from immediate point of return to destination.

Cash assistance will include: cash for food ($111) cash for winterization ($305) and cash for road transportation from points of entry to area of return ($46.24)

In coordination the Afghanistan Protection Cluster, this project will support IOM to continue regular protection monitoring to contribute to the Protection Cluster’s understanding of the protection environment for undocumented returnees. Monitoring will take place starting from Herat and Nimroz to other final destinations of undocumented returnees where IOM Protection Programme is present. The monitoring will track protection trends, including human rights violations and will support analysis to inform evidence-based advocacy for effective protection and wider humanitarian response across Afghanistan.

Under this project, IOM’s  programme will target a total of 612 households (4,284 individuals). 

These funds are complementary and fill gaps in the existing Protection programme pooled funding from other AHF, CERF, ECHO and COMPASS grants.