Provision of WASH assistance to vulnerable communities in Afghanistan The prolonged multiple crises unfolding in Afghanistan have had devastating effects on people’s ability to meet their daily needs and to cope with sudden shocks The country is suffering from a prolonged drought that, unlike the last one that was relatively localized in the western region, the current drought is impacting one-third of the country. The WASH Cluster winterization prioritization plan has identified 183 districts as category three in terms of need for urgent WASH response to enable communities to cope during the winter 2022/2023. The below proposed five target districts fall within this category. As per the WASH cluster winterization plan approximately 15.1 million people are in need of WASH assistance in 24 provinces of the country. Some of the specific needs identified in the prioritization plan include water scarcity and unavailability of hygiene items (especially soap) through into winter period in drought-affected areas, AWD outbreak in communities especially affecting children U5 and areas where women and girls reported feeling unsafe to access water points and/or bath-latrines. 

The project will be implemented in the hard-to-reach districts of Shindand in Herat, Khakrez in Kandahar and Assadabad, Watapur and Marawara in Kunar province.  These districts are categorized as level 3 in the WASH Cluster winter prioritization plan due to their remoteness, drought conditions and an AWD outbreak among other criteria. DACAAR plans to achieve the following as part of the proposed project:

A total of 93,100 people will be provided with safe water through:
Construction of 5 pipe scheme network benefiting and estimated 1,500 families or 10,500 individuals.
Rehabilitation of 250 non functional water points benefiting an estimated 3,750 families or 26,250 individuals.
Chlorination/disinfection of 1,150 contaminated water sources benefiting an estimated 8,050 families or 56,350 individuals.
Hygiene promotion and distribution of kits to 1,500 families (10,500 individuals) who benefit from safe water from construction of pipe scheme networks. 
Water quality tests in support of the above activities.

The type of activities in each district are selected based on DACAAR's many years of experience in and local knowledge of the above districts.  The implementation includes a combination of new construction works, rehab works and disinfection works that ensure availability of sustainable safe water supply for the targeted communities.  In addition to the safe water and to ensure long terms positive health impact, DACAAR will provide hygiene education and kits to the beneficiaries of the pipe scheme networks.  In addition, DACAAR will perform water quality tests to determine quality of water before it can be used by the targeted communities. Throughout the implementation period, DACAAR will ensure close coordination with OCHA regional focal points, regional and national WASH cluster coordinators as well as other WASH and local health actors on the ground. 

We have looked at the activities and the context carefully and would like to propose the project for 8 months based on the following reasons:  1) The securing of project authorizations at national and local level is highly bureaucratic and take time, 2) procurement given the volatile markets will be slow, 3) The project period includes winter months during which construction work will be stalled due to freezing temperatures, and this will particularly affect the construction of three new pipe scheme networks.  A document illustrating agreement by the WASH cluster regarding the duration of the project is included in the document tab.