Drought response: Integrated protection response to hard to reach and most vulnerable people in Helmand, Badghis and Herat Province aiming to reduce negative coping strategies This is a protection led project with an integrated design aiming to build and complement to the already multi-sectorial response (Nut, FSL, WASH, Emergency response and Protection). Action Against Hunger (AAH) has in the province of Helmand. Addressing the protection needs will provide a holistic response to drought-affected communities including affected communities and returnees. This project aims to reach people prior to displacement as a priority, and support displaced groups made more vulnerable by drought and associated reduced resources. These needs have become priorities for all beneficiaries in those provinces in particular with limited developmental gains or systems of resilience to environmental risk factors, most notably drought at this time. AAH is adopting an active and proactive approach in Helmand, Herat and Badghis to prevent and address Gender Base Violence (GBV) cases, as well as Child Protection concerns and population at risk of being Mine land victims in drought affected and hard to reach areas in addition to the protracted armed conflict. This complex humanitarian emergency is exacerbating the population's negative coping strategies leading to higher rates of mortality and morbidity especially among the most vulnerable including women, girls, boys, elderly and persons with disabilities. AAH is willing with this project to address these urgent protection needs, but also to build capacity to governmental, national and local stakeholders and to raise awareness to make the community more resilient and cope in a better way.

In Helmand, AAH currently reaches beneficiaries to provide Nutrition and essential care practices assistance in Laskargah and Nawa. AAH is the main actor in the province to provide emergency response to flood and drought affected population through multipurpose cash grants and WASH kits. Moreover, AAH is currently collaborating with the HALO Trust under ECHO funds to provide Mine Risk Education (MRE) sessions to girls, boys, men and women including students, teachers, health workers and NGO workers.

Under this project, AAH is planning to: 
1) Raise awareness through radio campaigns and monthly dialogues with community leaders.
2) Provide assistance in the form of psychosocial support (PSS), parenting skills and child and woman care practices to prevent negative copying mechanisms and by distributing dignity kits to the most vulnerable cases identified ensuring Do No Harm Principles. 
3) Referral of the vulnerable cases in need of additional support. AAH is planning to strengthen the referral pathway by triangulating the protection mapping services (health, legal and psychosocial assistance) and following-up to ensure the assistance is delivered. Identification and referrals will be done by teams in the field. 
4) Establishment of Women Friendly Health Spaces (WFHS) and Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) at community level to prevent and intervene on the protection risks and consequences of drought and conflict in the family with a special focus on women, girls and boys at risk of violence, abuse and exploitation.
5) Capacity building to local women associations, as well as to the Directorate of Women Affairs (DoWA) and to teachers and health facility workers on PSS to adults and children, care practices, including Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF), GBV and CPiE.
6) Due to the high and urgent need for EORE in Herat, HALO Trust will send two mobile teams to Guzara and Pashtun Zarghun district in Herat to provide EORE to returnees and non-displaced conflict-affected people, especially women and boys and girls.