Integrated Protection Programming in Underserved Communities of Farah, Herat, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, and Logar Provinces The consequences of winter in relation to isolation, economic burden, and critical living conditions pose further threats to vulnerable populations’ psychological wellbeing and protection risks and amplify the use of harmful coping mechanisms as a means to survive. Against this backdrop, DRC will contribute to improving the protection environment and dignified living conditions of acutely vulnerable individuals during the winter season through the provision of integrated and comprehensive Protection programming. A holistic package of interventions including protection monitoring, community-based protection, individual protection assistance (IPA), awareness raising, and psychosocial support (PSS) services will be implemented to cohesively address critical vulnerabilities and protection risks in underserved communities of Farah, Herat, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak, and Logar Provinces. Specifically, DRC will implement a six-month Protection programme to address the intersecting needs and vulnerabilities of 7,796 individuals with critical life-saving assistance.

In close coordination with the Afghanistan Protection Cluster (APC) and partners, DRC will establish 16 gender-segregated Community Based Protection Committees (CBPCs) across select target districts with the aim of empowering affected populations in their own self-protection and promoting meaningful access, participation, and ownership of project interventions. Regular protection monitoring will be conducted throughout the duration of the intervention to identify protection trends and concerns within target communities and ultimately better inform Protection interventions. Protection monitoring activities and the CBPCs will also inform the identification of cases in need of protection services. Cash-based IPA, a single, time-bound assistance modality, will be provided to 1,420 vulnerable individuals to prevent, mitigate, or remove a specific protection risk. The disbursement of IPA is therefore tied to specific conditionalities and has a clear protection risk mitigation target. IPA is considered as a ‘last resort’ intervention or useful auxiliary to other protection responses (such as referrals to specialized protection services). This is because IPA alone cannot address the root causes of protection risks in the longer term. Each IPA beneficiary may receive up to $220, in line with the APC’s IPA guidance and dependent on the severity of the risk and is to be spent within a month. Cash-based IPA is delivered through a pre-contracted hawala provider. DRC deems that cash-based IPA is the most appropriate form of assistance, as it allows individuals to respond to a threat in their own capacity. Where cash delivery is not appropriate or feasible, in-kind IPA may also be considered. For instance, in-kind IPA is considered for more vulnerable groups such as elderly or persons with disabilities who may be experiencing physical impairments to access services directly. A total of 5,130 individuals will participate in awareness raising sessions on their rights and entitlements, to complement other humanitarian activities implemented by DRC within the same target districts. Finally, PSS services will be provided to 1,250 individuals experiencing psychosocial distress to strengthen their wellbeing, resilience, and self-coping capacities. 

The project will be tightly linked with other humanitarian and early recovery activities conducted by DRC, including proposed emergency winterization and food support under this allocation, to contribute to a holistic and comprehensive multi-sector response. DRC will apply deliberate and consistent mechanisms and processes to effectively ensure accountability to the affected population (AAP) at all stages of the response, with the view that project participants are rights-holders rather than passive aid recipients.