Provision of Cash Assistance for Food Security to the most vulnerable IPC 3 and above Populations in Kunduz Province and Education Support to Returnees in Baghlan Provinces, Afghanistan" ltpgtAccording to the HNRP 2024, an estimated 23.7 million people are projected to require humanitarian assistance. The fragile Afghan economy, heavily reliant on humanitarian aid and remittances, faces challenges exacerbated by the exclusion of women from economic activities. The effects of political transition, economic contraction, and diminished development assistance have amplified protection risks and humanitarian needs at the household-level, with women and girls bearing the brunt of the impact. While 2023 witnessed marginal improvements in food insecurity following the provision of substantial levels of food and livelihoods, Afghanistan continues to experience high rates of hunger and malnutrition, amid difficult climate conditions, limited income generating opportunities for its growing population and ongoing barriers to basic services. In 2024, an estimated 15.8 million people will experience crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity through March (IPC 3+).lt/pgtltpgtltbrgtBased on the DIEM Round 8 Data indicates, 95% of the respondents in Kunduz province reported a reduction in their income, 83% food as their first priority need, 93% receiving no assistances in the past 3 months, 48% practicing medium Reduced Coping Strategy  50% high coping, 52% spending savings, 56% selling more animals, 93% borrowing money, 96% reducing essential non-food expenses, 95.9% unable to eat healthy food, 91.1% had to skip a meal, and 86% reported they had no food to eat of any kind at least one to two times during the last month.ltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtltbrgtKunduz province is classified in IPC phase 3 in the latest IPC analysis with 440,390 individuals (35%) from rural areas in IPC 3 and 62,913 in IPC (5%) in IPC 4. 90,140 individuals (30%) from urban areas are in IPC phase 3 and 15,023 (5%) in IPC phase 4. These people are in urgent need of food assistance among other necessities.ltbrgtTo respond to the emergency food needs of the affected people in Kunduz province, ARWEO proposes to implement a Cash for Food project to reach 3,064 households (21,448 individuals) in two districts of Kunduz province as following:lt/pgtltpgtltbrgt- 1532 HHs in Chahar Daraltbrgt- 1532 HHs in Dasht-e-Archiltbrgtlt/pgtltpgtltbrgtEach eligible HH will receive 4 rounds of 40 USD in cash form in order to enable them provide food for their HH members. Each round will cover 50% food needs of the targeted HHs, covering 4 months’ half food basket in total as defined by the FSAC in the recent Guidelines for Response Packages. This will cover a significant quantity of HHs facing acute food insecurity to ensure that they will have access to enough food through enhancing their purchase power, resulting in increased food security and food consumption score. In addition, this will prevent the targeted HHs from practicing negative coping strategies to deal with lack of access to enough food.lt/pgtltpgtThe cash modality is preferred by the majority of the people in the target districts, according to the rapid assessment conducted by the ARWEO (11-12 May 2024). The assessment also indicates that food markets are available with quality food items where almost everyone has access to.lt/pgtltpgtOur proposed project aims to address the educational needs of both returnee students and students from vulnerable host communities in Baghlan Province, Afghanistan, particularly in the Pul-e-Khumri and Baghlan-e-Jadid districts. Over an 11-month duration, our comprehensive education program seeks to improve access to quality education and raise awareness about its importance within these communities. This initiative includes three main components: rehabilitating schools to create better learning environments, providing educational materials to 1500 students, including both returnees and vulnerable host community members, in hub-schools, and conducting awareness activities to promote education and community engagement among both groups.ltbrgtlt/pgt