Cash for food assistance for food insecure households in Nangarhar province (Khogyani  Sherzad districts) The overall objective of this intervention is to ensure 2075 households (14,525  people –3,486  men, 3341women,  3,922 boys and 3,776 girls) in IPC 4 have enhanced food security support in Nangarhar Province, specifically in Khogyani and Sherzad districts, as per the directive of the FSAC for the AHF 1st Reserved Allocation 2022. Specifically in Nangarhar, according to the latest IPC Projection, the IPC 4 population has nearly doubled from October 2021 to March 2022 – from approximately 275,000 people to nearly 475,000. Food insecurity in both rural and urban Afghanistan - compounded by conflict, poverty and drought - is dramatically worsening and urgent lifesaving support to prevent catastrophic levels of food insecurity is needed.

ActionAid Afghanistan’s (AAA) response will focus on Strategic Objective 1 of the 2022 Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan “Timely, multi-sectoral, life-saving, equitable and safe assistance is provided to crisis-affected people of all genders and diversities to reduce mortality and morbidity”, as well as the FSAC Cluster priorities of “Food (cash or in-kind) assistance for 6 months 75% of the food basket to IPC 4 vulnerable people”. Of these vulnerable people, AAA will seek to prioritise people living with disabilities, the elderly, female-headed households and pregnant and lactating women (PLWs) in accordance with principles of inclusivity. 

In Nangarhar, the project will target two Districts – 1,175 households in Khogyani (8,225 individuals) and 900 households in Sherzad (6,300 individuals). These districts were prioritized based on need and FSAC cluster recommendation. AAA will seek to coordinate with the other FSAC partner in the Province, AWRO, to ensure that duplication is avoided and complementarity, learning sharing and referrals are promoted. In line with the FSAC strategy for the AHF 1st reserve allocation 2022 AAA will provide cash assistance for food for 6 months covering 75% of the Food Basket to 14,077 IPC Phase 4 individuals in Khogyani and Sherzad districts of Nangarhar province. Each household will receive AFN equivalent of USD 60 per month, meaning in total each household will receive the equivalent of USD 360 in 6 months. The total project duration will be 8 months, with the first month being used for setting up the project and taking necessary approval from the Government to select a distributer, select project participants and initiate the relationship with key stakeholders in the area, and with the last month being used for for writing the final report. 

Distributions of cash for food will be made on a monthly basis to ensure food security for vulnerable households in IPC 4 for 6 months. Cash has been chosen as opposed to in-kind distributions based on AAA’s and FSAC’s market assessment. Based on our experience cash is an empowering and dignifying method of transferring beneficiary entitlement it reduces procurement timelines thereby ensuring that support is timely and can help in reviving the local market. It also gives the community flexibility and independence to decide what to buy from where. Cash distribution will be achieved through a Sarafa (Hawala) with whom ActionAid already has a contract. AAA has learned that due to changes in context, cash liquidity is a serious challenge and banks are still not operating fully, and therefore using hawalas is the best way to ensure cash is available for the project participants.

To ensure we are mainstreaming protection concerns, the project will aim to increase knowledge amongst the targeted vulnerable households on existing referral pathways and protection services for survivors of SGBV unaccompanied children and people living with disabilities in the two districts in Nangarhar Province, by having women staff sharing this information with women project participants and having banners in place with hotline numbers. It also will increase project participants’ knowledge of feedback-complaint mechanisms.