Integrated Protection and CCCM programming in underserved sites and informal settlements in Kandahar city DRC aims to improve the protection environment and dignified living conditions of acutely vulnerable displaced populations residing in underserved sites and informal settlements in Kandahar city through the provision of integrated and comprehensive area-based Protection and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) programming. A holistic package of interventions including WASH, Shelter, NFI, and Protection support will be implemented to cohesively address service provision gaps, humanitarian needs, and protection risks, while site infrastructure will be maintained and improved through functional coordination and management mechanisms and inclusive community-based structures. 

DRC will implement a 12-month coordinated, multi-sectoral CCCM and Protection response to address the intersecting needs and vulnerabilities of 27,650 site residents with critical life-saving assistance. Under the CCCM sector, site profiling and safety audits conducted at project onset will inform appropriate and protection-risk sensitive interventions, reinforced by regular protection monitoring at household and community levels. Interventions implemented will include site care and maintenance and emergency service delivery, to respond to the needs and risks identified through the safety audits and acute crisis events that may occur throughout the duration of the intervention. The establishment and strengthening of Community Site Management Committees (CSMCs) will ensure affected communities and their needs remain at the center of the response, and that service provision is equitable, appropriate, and inclusive of all age, gender and diversity (AGD) groups. In response to the lack of trained partners, DRC will build the capacity of Kandahar-based partners (24 staff) to deliver services within the sites through sustained coordination and dedicated staff trainings. DRC will implement 40 community based initiatives (CBIs) to support the development and maintenance of site infrastructure across all locations. Given acute hygiene needs in the target sites, DRC will distribute hygiene kits to 2,800 households, modified to include additional menstrual hygiene management materials for women and girls, alongside complementary hygiene promotion. DRC will address urgent shelter needs through the distribution of shelter self-repair kits, emergency tents, and tarpaulin to 1,700 households, as residents often live in illegal makeshift shelters or poorly built housing. 

Under the protection sector, DRC will establish two Community Based Protection Committees (CBPCs) 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 to throughout the duration of the intervention to identify protection trends and concerns within identified sites and informal settlements in Kandahar and ultimately better inform Protection and CCCM interventions. Protection monitoring and the CBPCs will also inform the identification of cases in need of protection services. Cash-based Individual Protection Assistance (IPA) will be provided to 800 individuals facing acute protection risks, with the aim of addressing recipients’ immediate unmet protection concerns, reducing their vulnerability and exposure to risks/harm, and improving their sense of safety and dignity. Referrals (100 cases) will be conducted following a detailed mapping of existing service providers in Kandahar city, and complemented with the provision of essential financial resources and systematic follow-up by staff. Legal assistance, including awareness, counseling, and documentation, was identified among the most needed forms of assistance for households living in informal settlements, and will be provided to a total of 1,200 individuals. Cross-cutting advocacy to support priorities identified in consultation with site residents will also be undertaken.