Provide access to safe and drinkable water and improved hygiene practices to drought affected communities in Jawzjan, Balkh and Kunduz provinces. ltpgtAfter four decades of conflict, Afghanistan endures one of the worst humanitarian crises. 23.7 million people require assistance in 2024, with 50% of them being children. This number is expected to increase with the anticipated return of 1.4 million Afghans, according to the Humanitarian Needs and Response plan (HNRP) 2024. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is a critical challenge: a projected 21.1 million people are expected to require WASH support in 2024, a three-fold increase from mid-2020. Protracted drought, lack of access to safe drinking water, poor levels of sanitation coverage, and under-investment in services and infrastructure is having severe consequences on the quality of life and access to basic services, particularly for women and children. In the North and Northeastern regions, basic access to water is a problem facing households (HHs) with reports of reliance on unimproved water sources being the two highest in the country.lt/pgtltpgtltbrgtIn line with the priorities of the WASH cluster and the Allocation Strategy, Acted proposes to rehabilitate 5 water networks in 5 districts (1 water network per district) of Kunduz province (Aliabada and Chahardara districts), Balkh province (Chemtal district) and Jawzjan province (Khanaqa and Shiberghan districts). The rehabilitated water networks will benefit the populations of the 5 target districts, equaling 855   HHs (5,985 individuals) – 479 men-headed HHs, 376 women-headed HHs. At the start of the project, Acted’s engineering team will carry out a WASH technical assessment in the 5 targeted districts to identify the water networks most in need of being rehabilitated and which do not meet SPHERE and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) standards, with a focus on communities particularly affected by drought, mainly in rural yet also in urban areas.lt/pgtltpgtltbrgtActed will provide hygiene promotion to the 855 HHs to be supported by the water network rehabilitation and will select 290   vulnerable HHs - from the 855 HHs - in the 5 targeted districts and provide them with hygiene kits. Acted will target the most vulnerable HHs using standard eligibility criteria and a vulnerability scoring methodology based on criteria such as female-, child or persons with disability-headed HHs, level of income/debt, number of dependents in the household or those with chronic disease/illness, among other key factors. Acted will integrate community participation and feedback in all project stages including the final selection of water networks and will start the project by carrying out community mobilization and sensitization about the activities. Access to safe and drinkable water, as well as hygiene promotion, will also help reduce the spread of water-borne and hygiene-related diseases. This in turn will help prevent health issues in the targeted communities, and key messages about personal, family or environmental hygiene will be shared with them to achieve this. lt/pgtltpgtIn total, the rehabilitation of 5 water networks and provision of hygiene kits and promotion will benefit a total of 855 HHs, equivalent to around 5,985 individuals.ltbrgtlt/pgt