Provision and integration of social protection services and improvement of access to livelihoods for the most vulnerable people residing in five ATCs in Donetska and Luhanska oblast. The project is aimed at improving social protection services and increasing resilience of the vulnerable population groups in five Amalgamated Territorial Communities (ATCs) along the “contact line” in Donetska and Luhanska oblasts (Toretska, Svitlodarska, Ocheretynska, Hirska, and Shchastynska) through provision and integration of quality social support services and creating adapted livelihood and/or social entrepreneurship opportunities. The project has multi-sectorial nature and covers Protection, WASH and Food Security amp Livelihood sectors. Under the Protection sector, PAH will improve system of social services provision and, consequently, resilience of conflict-affected people through 1) integration of social protection services into the ATCs social care system in the form of co-financing positions of 20 Social Workers and 4 Psychologists with ATCs authorities as well as developing/making relevant ATCs Social Protection Strategies 2) capacity building of 80 social institution employees on both psychosocial issues including WHO tools and health-related issues. At the same time, to empower communities and strengthen their community-based protection, PAH will further build capacity of 24 representatives of local CSOs/activists in such topics, as fundraising, project management advocacy, referral system, identifying protection risks etc., which will along with the provision of five grants strengthen community social infrastructure. As a contribution to the given project, under USAID/BHA-funded project, PAH will continue provision of home-based care to the most vulnerable older people in hard-to-reach areas of the targeted ATCs including but not limited to transportation of people with limited mobility to the basic services (e.g. to the vaccination centres), which will be combined with raising the awareness among the most vulnerable older people on vaccination campaign. This project to also become complementary to the project to be implemented by PAH in cooperation with WHO, with a focus on mobile health home visits of patients with suspicion on COVID-19, patients with COVID-19 for following up their health conditions and treatment. Finally, this project component will be supported by distribution of one-month hygiene kits to 500 most vulnerable older people and people with disabilities infected with COVID-19.
Under the given project, PAH strives to build synergy between social protection and livelihoods, as these two things are interlinked. In this regard, PAH will contribute to livelihood resilience of most vulnerable population groups residing along the “contact line” through 1) conducting Livelihoods Needs Assessment, results of which to be shared with the ATCs and the humanitarian/development actors 2) co-financing positions of 4 Livelihood Specialists with ATCs authorities as well as developing/improving ATCs Economic Strategies and its compliance with the Social Protection Strategies. At the same time, 350 most vulnerable people (older people aged 60+ people with disabilities people aged 40+ who take care of older people and people with disabilities) will have improved access to livelihoods and/or employment opportunities, where 250 people will build their capacity in the area of self-employment and social/micro entrepreneurship, while other 100 people will participate in the training sessions on employment search. 50 most successful business ideas will be provided with livelihoods grants (agriculture and non-agriculture). To continue community empowerment, PAH will provide representatives of local CSOs/activists with trainings on self-employment and social/micro entrepreneurship and employment search.