nlp-thedeep/humsetbias huggingface dataset:
The major reasons for not allowing female members of the family to be hospitalised are cultural barriers of sending women to hospital and allow them to stay for a longer duration in the hospital
As a result of the worsening outlook, 310,500 trauma patients have been projected as needing emergency humanitarian treatment, mostly through first aid trauma posts in 2021.
Just a couple of months ago, this child friendly space at the Hazrat Bilal camp for internally displaced persons in Balkh Province was a lively place where children could gather safely to chat, play and learn. Those happy sounds have been replaced by a deafening silence since the space was closed to reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading.
HCT  [ Humanitarian Country Team ]  members, led by UNICEF and the HC  [ Humanitarian Coordinator ] , should using the existing Terms of Reference work with the Technical and Provincial Committees to draft a strategic plan on the implementation of the Child Rights Protection Law, 2019; and
Each community should be analyzed and targeted on an individual basis, given the wide range of connectivity factors, as well as cultural and social beliefs governing the use of technology and supporting home based learning. For instance families in Kabul have better access to electricity therefore, TV programs could be part of a solution, while families in Badghis have limited access to electricity and it would be less effective if for example TV programs is used as an alternative approach. These localized nuances need to drive programmatic design and adaptation processes.
More than 97% of families have access to electricity either to governmental or solar power in their communities. However, the number of days in a week that they have power differs from 3 to 7 days.
Moreover, some concerns about the next school year are raising with 51.5% who are stressed to a large extent for not being able to go to school in the next fall and 61.2% who are also extremely stressed for not being able to join school in the next fall due to financial problems  ( Table 2 )
Despite these seemingly insurmountable challenges, IOM – under the leadership of the Government of Afghanistan and the Ministry of Public Health, and in close partnership with the World Health Organization  ( WHO ) , UNHCR and others – is actively supporting Afghanistan's COVID 19 response.
Accurate information is a key element of successful public health responses yet recent community perception surveys show as many as 60 per cent of residents were uninformed about COVID 19. For this reason we are carrying out awareness sessions for Community Health Workers in five provinces to build community level awareness and referral capacity.
Knowledge about Self care measures are more with women  ( 52% )  than men  ( 29% ) . This shows men are a bit careless while taking precautions.
According to a UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan  ( UNAMA )  report published on 21 June, between 11 March and 23 May 2020 there were 15 incidents affecting healthcare facilities including 12 deliberate attacks.
Nearly all respondents were aware of COVID 19 – only three  ( 3 )  knew nothing about it; women are more concerned about its potential impact on their lives, in line with worldwide concerns around gendered impacts of COVID 19
DTM will contribute data from all 34 provinces and over 12,000 communities by year end while providing hygiene sessions and COVID 19 awareness to all the communities where it is deployed.
IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix  ( DTM )  is delivering data on cross border and provincial migration flows and community level needs to inform wider response planning and preparedness actions.
COVID 19 induced lockdowns have amplified the effects of the conflict, rendering tens of thousands of working Afghans suddenly jobless, compelling over 376,000 to return from Pakistan and Iran since January.
57% have mentioned of effects on livestock management due to COVID 19 and the restriction of movements.
Furthermore, MoSLA  [ Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs ]  provided UNICEF with recommendations for future support to the elderly in the context of COVID 19. They recommended conducting a survey in order to identify the most vulnerable and in need members of the elderly community, who would then be enrolled in support mechanisms which include cash provisions of 10000 AFN  ( 130 USD ) . UNICEF is currently implementing this programme for children and may extend it to the elderly in the future.
The MoPH  [ Ministry of Public Health ]  launched information campaigns containing information regarding the high risk of infection and complications specific to the elderly population, which contributed to a loss of confidence among the population they sought to protect. He stated that many elderly people and their families interpreted their specific vulnerabilities and risks as resulting in inevitable death from COVID 19. This caused widespread feelings of depression, panic, and lack of confidence amongst the elderly, which was compacted by families leaving older members to die at hospitals when they were infected.
The MoPH  [ Ministry of Public Health ]  also organized public talks regarding the COVID 19 pandemic in order to raise awareness and reach as many Afghans as possible
COVID 19 is deadly for elderly people, people with pre existing diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and those who are immuno compromised.
64% reported that they were able to practice the recommended social distancing.
Most of the surveyed respondents claimed that they knew how to protect themselves from the virus  ( 91% ) , yet, they were still afraid of transmitting the virus  ( 69% ) , potentially impacted by people's capacity to practice personal protective measures.
Ordered school closure has meant that more than 9.5 million children in regular schools and 500,000 children enrolled in community based education  ( CBE )  will not resume schooling as per the normal schedule.
SHURA also mainstreams gender into programme activities, providing ownership documents to beneficiaries on condition that land and housing is registered in the name of both the man and the woman.
. To date, City for All has registered 800,000 land parcels across Afghanistan's five largest cities to provide an important mechanism to redress gender inequality. The SHURA programme operationalizes the PD 305 to provide land and housing to IDPs and Returnees in two pilot sites in Kabul and Herat.
Two of the largest systematic land registration programmes currently operating in Afghanistan are the City for All Programme, and the SHURA Programme; both of these programmes provide a route for women to obtain legal property rights to land. The City for All Programme systematically registers land rights to issue Occupancy Certificates, providing legal recognition of beneficiaries' property rights; a prerequisite of participation in the programme is that property rights are jointly registered in the name of the male and female household heads
Community support projects in high return areas also build up local infrastructure to ensure access to functional markets, clean drinking water and livelihoods opportunities while keeping communities safe from seasonal flooding.
Over the past decade, the government has implemented a number of programmes to formalize land ownership by providing eligible households legal property documents. These interventions are an important route for women to obtain legal ownership of land, because they often mainstream gender equity in programme activities
The vast majority of land in Afghanistan is either undocumented, or documented with customary mechanisms that tend to privilege the property rights of men.
In addition, the marriage contract with details of the property included as Mahr, provides strong proof of ownership: Article 18 of the Land Management Law lists marriage certificate as proof of ownership – provided the certificate is an official document recorded and registered in court archives.
For most Afghan women, marriage becomes an important opportunity to acquire land and property rights. According to the Civil Code, on marriage women are entitled to Mahr  ( dowry )  that she alone can own and use, and which can include rights to land; the details of the Mahr are to be included in a marriage contract. In principal, Mahr is a secure mechanism for women to access land because the concept is applied very strictly in Islam.
Key laws detail women's rights to inherit land; in particular, the Civil Code grants women comprehensive inherence rights  ( see Table 1 ) . It should be noted that under Sharia law, a woman's share is half that of the man's in cases where there is both a male and female heir. In practice, however, cultural practices often pressure women to give up her share of inheritance. Daughters tend to relinquish their inherited land rights to their brothers, while widows who inherit land commonly transfer it to their sons or brothers. In the rare cases where women do retain control of inherited land, they usually have no brothers and are not married.
The 2017 Land Management Law provides that men and women enjoy equal access to property rights  ( see Table 1 ) . Hence, the law permits women to transact property through sale and purchase. According to Islamic traditions, women are also permitted to retain an income distinct from their husbands, and can do with it as they choose. These facets of Islam and Afghan law should in theory facilitate women's access to housing, land and property. In practice, however, women's role typically is confined to unpaid work in the domestic sphere, and so women have less income to purchase property than men. Because of this, and other cultural practices that privilege men's participation in property markets, women are far less likely to acquire property through purchase than men.
Advocacy and awareness on dangers of child marriage and child labour.
Results indicate that small or reduced class sizes are the preferred option for most families surveyed in six provinces
SC and its partners should continue advocacy with the MoE to issue clear guidance on grade transition and provide clarity on recognition of curriculum progress made through home based learning in addition to underlining the importance of including children with the least access to resources  ( e.g., IDPs, those in hard to reach areas, girls, female  or child headed households, etc. )  when developing alternative learning pathways.
The lack of access to the main distance learning modalities recommended by the MoE in hard to reach areas where SC and other EiE implementers operate reflects a need to investigate other ways to engage children during the school closure period.
Designing a distance learning model that reaches those with the least access to technology and infrastructure increases the impact of the intervention and enables greater continuity of learning for girls and boys.
84.3% of children get help doing their homework, while 15.7% of children have no one to help them to complete their homework either in their family or from a person who lives near them. The highest percentage of respondents answered that children receive support from their brothers or sisters to help with homework.
Continue to consult, engage and support partners and civil society organisations about their concerns and needs to inform VAWG service provision.
WASH needs assessment was coordinated with all WASH interagency WASH Cluster Coordinator Balkh MoRR, Provincial Rural Rehabilitation Directorate  ( PRRD )  and with local community leaders in the area
The chart shows significant differences in regard to provision of hygiene promotion,1: zero% indicates none of the families received hygiene Promotion, 2: Hygiene kits zero % shows that out of the total populations none received any kind of consumable hygiene kits from any agency yet, 3: out of total only 5% families are having information about COVID 19.
Older people are particularly sensitive to disruptions in food access and security, especially in rural areas.
As a result of the combined economic effects of the pandemic, lockdown, and unemployment, many families had no choice but to borrow money to avoid starvation and found themselves deeply in debt. This was especially true for IDPs, who heavily depend on the retail and construction industries for income, both of which shut down completely during the lockdown.
The Elderly Department manager at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs  ( MoLSA )  remarked that since the pandemic has begun, there are increasing numbers of elderly people pulling wheelbarrows and carts in order to continue to feed themselves.
For those relying on day labour to support themselves and their families, the lockdown and restricted movement meant no income. This was especially difficult for the elderly, as they are typically cared and provided for by their family members.
Interviews conducted with healthcare workers in Afghanistan confirmed that there is currently no specific COVID 19 treatment targeted at elderly patients. Rather, patients are treated based on their illness level and need. Yet, the rate of elderly in hospitals is double that of youth.
Households may turn to internal and external migration as a solution to economic problems. In the current context, these pose a health risk as well as a safety risk – in particular given perceptions around migrants spreading COVID 19
To ensure the safety of children in CBE classes, SC recommends not to pursue this option until clear guidance has been issued, as this could further promote the spread of COVID19 without proper enforcement of social  ( physical )  distancing and hygiene practices.
While the distance learning modalities suggested by the MoE as a plan for learning continuity are not widely accessible to the six provinces surveyed in this rapid assessment, more respondents had access to television than radio and internet, respectively.
In addition to the focus on children, broader support is needed within households. Work must be done to reduce stigma around psycho social distress and build on initial efforts to keep MHPSS  [ Mental Health and Psychosocial Support ]  support available remotely.
For children whose education is being interrupted, there is a real risk that they will then continue to stay out of school, whether for health reasons, economic, or due to falling too far behind.
At bare minimum, in addition to ongoing materials distribution, awareness raising to promote the importance of study is needed, and the development of alternative means of education support targeting these at risk children must be prioritised by education actors, for example through community based approaches to learning and small group learning when safe.
Beyond continuing education, stakeholders can focus on keeping children learning and intellectually engaged. This could be inked to child protection programming, with integrated efforts focused on for example promoting psycho social wellbeing.
As borders have closed completely, desperate migrants may turn to even more dangerous means of crossing
The CPAN  [ Child protection Action Network ]  must have active referrals option ready, and efforts to raise awareness around child marriage and other negative economic coping mechanisms should be intensified. More support and funding for social workers is needed, with additional social workers recruited locally.
Those ‘on the edge'– who cannot study at home, due to inability to access means of continued education or lack of support, and already likely struggle further to remain in school – are likely to fall further behind during COVID 19, increasing dropout risks
The Ministry of Education and other stakeholders have been developing approaches, ranging from television support to packets of schoolwork to be distributed by teachers.
Given the ties between child protection issues and economic stress, in addition to psychosocial stress posed by social isolation, child protection must be at the forefront of advocacy and systems strengthening efforts.
The global action plan  ( GAP )  on child wasting offers an important opportunity to consolidate the work done and build on it.
Afghanistan still remains highly reliant on aid, with domestic revenues sufficient to finance only around half of budgeted expenditures. Afghanistan faces a difficult adjustment as aid flows decline from current very high levels over the medium term. New sources of revenues and foreign exchange receipts will be required.
Train front line service providers on how to recognize, respond, protect and refer survivors to appropriate services, as well as training in basic psychosocial counselling and safety planning.
Ensure safety and well being of survivors of violence in health facilities and quarantine centers and ensure they receive all the necessary VAWG services, either in person or remotely, particularly psychosocial counselling.
Ensure that essential services providers from all sectors, including civil society organizations, have the necessary personal protective equipment to operate safely.  [ support to survivors of violence ]
To mitigate the devastating impact of violence on survivors' health, well being, agency and empowerment and to prevent the reoccurrence of violence, women and girls who have experienced violence need access to services that respond to their multiple needs: health care systems and justice, police and social support services.
Lockdowns and quarantine measures mean that many women are confined with their abusers, with limited options for seeking help and support.
This  [ women are confined with their abusers, with limited options for seeking help and support ]  is particularly true in Afghanistan, where women have already limited access to essential services.
In August, there was a significant increase in displacement due to both natural disasters and conflict relative to previous months of 2020. Around 14,000 individuals were affected by natural disasters in August 2020 according to data from UN OCHA, with the majority impacted by flash floods in the central and eastern regions. Meanwhile, about 33,000 individuals were displaced in August because of conflicts, mostly in Kunduz province.
Common people have also largely ignored physical distancing recommendations by health officials.
Much has been achieved in the strengthening and coordination of national nutrition specific programming. Led by the government, multiple agencies including UNICEF, WFP and WHO consistently collaborate to bring a quality continuum of care closer to women and children
From mid March on, international flights in and out of Kabul, including to the UAE and Turkey got cancelled due to C 19. Shortly after, the Afghan government stopped all commercial domestic flights within Afghanistan.
Support and ensure the strict implementation of the COVID 19 guidelines for Women Protection Centers, Family Protection Centers, Family Guidance Centers, and Women and Girls Safe Spaces to continue to operate safely
This  [ When working remotely and contacting or providing support to survivors of violence over the phone, it is of the utmost importance to ensure the confidentiality of both staff and clients ]  is particularly true in periods of lockdown, where clients can be confined with their abusers with limited to no opportunities to find privacy away from their abusers and receive or seek support. Not respecting strict measures to uphold confidentiality could put the client at risk.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization rated Afghanistan's healthcare system as one of the worst in the world. The pandemic has pushed the system into disarray. For example, in a hospital built specifically for the pandemic in the western province of Herat, which borders Iran, doctors temporarily stopped working out of protest, as they had not been paid for months.
A pandemic like this also presents unique challenges that can increase the number of child marriages. Because poverty is a known driver of child marriage – with families more likely to marry off daughters in times of economic stress to alleviate the perceived burden of caring for them – the anticipated economic fallout of COVID 19 could result in many more early marriages.
Another important challenge is the lack of funding to sustain and scale up nutrition services.
A broader funding strategy is urgently needed to support the effort to develop longer term solutions towards the sustained prevention and treatment of child wasting in Afghanistan.
The synergy between wasting prevention and treatment programmes must be improved to maximise their impact; there are currently limited referrals or shared planning between wasting treatment and livelihoods initiatives.
Prevention efforts are ongoing, for example through investment in the agriculture and health service sectors. However, investment is low compared to the contribution of the agriculture sector to the Gross Domestic Product  ( GDP )  and existing agriculture and livelihoods programmes lack coverage and often do not apply a nutritional lens
Since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, UNICEF has supplied more than 84 tons of soap to the most vulnerable families in Afghanistan, including an estimated 45,000 internally displaced people, more than half of whom are children. We're also working to support communities with safe water, such as installing a water tank and water filter at Herat Regional Hospital.
Through a UNICEF supported network, more than 1.8 million bars of soap are being distributed and an additional 6 million are in production.
As discussed, supplies for wasting management are almost entirely based on offbudget funding.
Insecurity continues to affect livelihoods and economic activity, curtailing private investment, and consumer demand. At the same time, rugged topography, vulnerability to climate change, and growing population impose additional constraints on development.
The agencies have also worked together on schoolbased support for weekly iron folic acid supplementation  ( WIFS )  for adolescent girls and deworming for school children and, more recently in the COVID 19 context, the expansion of the iron folic acid initiative to reach ‘out of school' adolescents through a community based platform  ( currently in pilot phase with expansion dependent on funding ) .
The Ministry of Education is reviewing the existing projects to adjust activities and resources in line with the needs identified in the COVID 19 education response plan. Applications are also being submitted to GPE and other donors to secure additional funding to address the immediate, medium and longer term recovery.
An additional $400 million under the Incentive Program Development Policy Grant of the International Development Association  ( IDA )  and Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund  ( ARTF )  has been provided to help the government maintain the delivery of key public services, improve business regulation, encourage private investment, expand social inclusion, and support civil service reforms.
o help reduce the potentially devastating poverty impact of the crisis and protect Afghanistan's hard won development gains, the World Bank has approved $300 million in grants to strengthen the health system and shore up key economic and public finance reforms. It has also worked closely with the government to restructure existing projects so that they can better support the pandemic response and the road to recovery.
The limited means of Afghan families to mitigate the effects of unexpected income losses means they must turn to potentially harmful coping strategies, like reducing spending on education and food or selling assets. It is calculated that on average only two months of basic consumption could be covered by selling assets, foregoing future earning capacity, and human capital accumulation. The lack of a social safety net amplifies the risk of them sliding into poverty.
Throughout the country, there are clear signs of anxiety about how deep and prolonged this crisis could be and its probable impacts on people's livelihoods.
The number of people who received essential health, nutrition, and population services increased 28% between 2017 19. Health facility visits per capita per year in 2019 reached 2.1, which translates into provision of health, nutrition and population services to more than 60 million individual visits.
Since 21 August, Spin Boldak crossing point has been open seven days a week for pedestrians and commercial trucks. As of 25 August, Torkham border has been open on Mondays and Tuesdays for refugee returnee movements to Afghanistan. Furthermore, on 28 September the Government of Pakistan decided that the Torkham and other crossing points with Afghanistan located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be open for pedestrian traffic on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
The experiences from other similar pandemics indicate that it is likely that a number of students may not return to school due to various reasons, and the alternative education offerings may not provide the expected learning outcomes. Therefore, the recovery plan has considered various dimensions including the safety of students, the design and length of the academic calendar, a flexible lesson delivery strategy and social mobilization to encourage students to return to school.
Lessons are also telecasted through Education Television and provincial branches of National TV. Private TV and radios stations have allocated part of their airtime for educational programs and awareness raising on the COVID 19 pandemic and preventive measures.
GPE, as part of its longstanding partnership with the Government and people of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is supporting the implementation of the government's respond plan. GPE has allocated a US$11 million COVID 19 accelerated grant to support to the government response plan, and contribute to maintaining the important gains achieved in recent years by the education sector in Afghanistan.
Despite limited resources and the sudden onset of the emergency, the Ministry of Education has made good progress in setting up and providing alternative education services. It is also committed to developing tools and capacities to monitor the reach and effect of self learning, distance learning and face to face education in small groups, while mobilizing additional resources and existing capacities to expand the reach of alternative education delivery.
However, owing to persistent challenges, including insufficient numbers of female teachers, deepening poverty and debilitating conflict and insecurity, 3.5 million children, most of them girls, are still out of school  ( UNICEF, 2018 ) , and consistent systemic quality remains elusive.
School enrollment increased almost ten fold from less than a million in 2001 to 9.6 million in 2018, with the establishment and construction of new schools and the deployment of thousands of new teachers.
In addition to these measures, the government, together with support from multiple partners, has increased efforts to improve the quality of education, paying attention to curriculum relevance, teacher education and learning assessment.
The spike in market food prices has had severe impacts on urban food insecurity.
Poor shelter and unhygienic conditions, particularly in displacement, leave people vulnerable to diseases such as COVID 19, and unable to cope with Afghanistan's harsh winters.
Conflict, poverty and repeated natural disasters have left an acutely vulnerable population with eroded emotional and financial capacity to cope with the unfolding COVID 19 crisis and the added protection risks it is causing.
In 2020, the Health Cluster will scale up both non COVID and COVID health services and aim to use COVID 19 as an entry point for deeper access into hard to reach areas. In direct response to the pandemic, the Cluster will support the Government on screening at border points, surveillance, testing laboratories, establishment of isolation wards and intensive care units  ( ICUs ) , and extensive risk communication and community engagement. This will reach a new population group of those expected to require hospitalisation due to the pandemic.
Emergency Shelter and Non Food Items  ( ES NFI )  Cluster partners are responding to the pandemic. Partners will strive to continue ensuring that people impacted by new crises can get emergency or transitional shelter and relief items that ensure their privacy and dignity, and that minimise protection and health risks, including COVID 19.
Health partners will also focus on expanding services through community level health facilities  ( as opposed to hospitals ) , which will require providing specialised training and equipment to these locations. This will allow people to receive care closer to home and allay fears around the need to travel to receive basic health care.
The Health Cluster continues to respond to people's immediate health needs by ensuring access to critical life saving assistance for all population group.
Moving ahead, policies will have to take into account: The priority that health services should be given for  ( a )  the containment and reduction of what is likely to become a relentless spreading of the virus;  ( b )  the mitigation of the social effects of the crisis arising directly from the pandemic and indirectly from the adverse economic impact; and  ( c )  minimizing the adverse economic impact in the short and medium run
A significant part of the policy response should immediately focus on the containment of the virus. Among such policies the most promising and the one with lowest fiscal implications is social distancing. If this fails, it would lead to the High Transmission scenario as developed by MoPH. The risk of spreading the virus may be higher in rural areas where health facilities are scarce and the knowledge about the pandemic may be low.
4% do not return to their areas of origin due to lack of livelihood opportunities, reunification with family/relatives, lack of housing/shelter, and perceived insecurity.
Community dialogues focusing on men and boys, including community and religious leaders, are also a key means through which culture change on GBV will be promoted.
Afghanistan had already started its efforts to contain the spread of the virus as early as January by controlling travelers at airports and other international entry points.
( 25   31 October )  During the week, regular population movements continued through Spin Boldak and Torkham crossing points to/from Afghanistan. In addition, the Government of Pakistan has recently resumed issuance of visas, including visas upon arrival for people with medical issues, which has resulted in increased population movements.
34%  ( 10,314 respondents )  claimed that they faced problems during the COVID 19 outbreak, such as lost work/wages, movement restrictions related to the lockdown, lack of access to medical services, discrimination/stigmatization by local communities, pressure by authorities to leave for Afghanistan, and lack of access to markets;
Moving ahead, policies will have to take into account: The administrative and institution capacity for expanding existing policies or introducing new policies as well as implementing them, including the limited direct outreach of government in certain districts
Moving ahead, policies will have to take into account: The already limited fiscal space that is partly the result of the ongoing conflict and the uncertain political situation that in turn may give rise to reluctance of Afghanistan's donors to maintain their support – even if donors do not, as the case seems at present, plan to reduce their aid budgets.
61% were Tazkira/token holders, 27% spontaneous returnees, 10% passport holders,1% VRF holders, and 1% deportees;  97% of the interviewed spontaneous returnees, 67% of VRF holders, 41% of Tazkira/token holders, 37% of passport holders were female;  69% of the interviewed returnees stated that they returned from Baluchistan, 18% from KPK, 9% Sindh, 3% Punjab, and 1% from Islamabad and Keshmir;
17 civilians were killed in the fighting, and 23 injured  ( OCHA 23/08/2020 ) .
Holistic approaches should be implemented to improve the resilience and self reliance of affected households, as well as enhance positive engagement of governance structures, reducing vulnerabilities and mitigating short and longer term protection risks. Timely identification of protection risks and violations through systematic and coordinated protection monitoring and analysis can inform preventative, responsive, and remedial interventions, as well as enhance accountability. Appropriate interventions include evidence based advocacy, protection specific service delivery and community based mobilization, mitigation and prevention activities all aimed at creating a protection conducive environment
[ A total of 5,000 IFRC Internal households  ( Kapisa 1,200 households; Paktika 800 households; Panjshir 600 households; Parwan 1,200 households; and Maidan Wardak 1,200 households )  were enrolled in food assistance activities. ] Afghan Red Crescent Society reached a total of 5,000 households by distributing one off food assistance to them. A total of 35,000 individuals were direct beneficiaries of the project due to one household member having access to food distributions through this operation. Each household received one complete food package which covered a monthly food basket for a family of seven. As distribution was carried out transparently and beneficiaries and community leaders were fully aware of the entitlements, the likelihood of misuse of food items was limited. The beneficiaries, who were interviewed, after they received the food packages, stated that they received the full food entitlement
The target provinces  ( Kapisa, Maidan Wardak, Parwan, Paktika, and Panjshir )  are amongst IPC  ( integrated food security phase classification )  phase 3  ( crisis )  that are experiencing severely food insecurity conditions. It made very difficult and challenging for Afghan Red Crescent Society to finalize the list of beneficiaries to receive food assistance. In all flood affected communities, there were many other households have been suffering from chronic food insecurity issues. Afghan Red Crescent Society therefore greatly relied on to support of community elders in selecting the target beneficiary households. Having said that, considering the chronic food insecurity issues in the country, it is recommended that continuous recovery and community resilience building projects to be implemented that can address the food insecurity issues in sustainable way.
Challenges: Procurement of food items took longer than expected. Though IFRC supported ARCS to do the procurement from local market in Kabul, procurement of food took longer for ARCS. Delays in procurement further delayed distribution of food assistance to flood affected households who indeed had to receive such assistance as soon as possible after the disaster  ( flooding ) . Hence, it is strongly recommended that when local markets are functioning in target provinces and when it is feasible, ARCS must use cash transfer modality for similar response operations in future. Cash transfer programming is faster as well as it is cost effective, and it will also give the beneficiaries the choice of purchasing food as per their needs.
The ongoing COVID 19 outbreak has made the already worse situation of the country more debilitating. The shocks and stresses of the COVID 19 pandemic has been having a much broader impact on the socio economic conditions of the vulnerable households and has not only diminished the well being and livelihoods of people, but also undermined the markets and food security on which life depends.
Procurement of food items: IFRC Afghanistan Delegation supported Afghan Red Crescent Society to procure food items from local market in Kabul. Considering that international procurement would take longer time and such food assistance had to reach to flood affected people as soon as possible, IFRC Afghanistan Delegation and Afghan Red Crescent Society preferred to do the procurement from local markets but ensuring that IFRC procurement policy and procedures were strictly considered and applied. In local market, particularly in Kabul, there are some qualified and experienced local food suppliers that have the capacity of supplying food items when needed.
Some of the international humanitarian organizations and government departments – who are also having food security programming – purchase the foods from local suppliers too. Before distributing the food items to beneficiaries, Afghan Red Crescent Society had the quality of all food items tested by Ministry of Public Health. Only when the Ministry of Public Health was done with the lab test and test results were submitted to Afghan Red Crescent Society, Afghan Red Crescent Society allowed the supplier to transfer the food to target provinces.
On 26 August 2020, due to heavy rainfall, floods hit 14 provinces  ( Parwan, Maidan Wardak, Kabul, Kapisa, Logar, Nuristan, Kunar, Laghman, Nangarhar, Panjshir, Khost, Paktiya, Paktika, and Ghazni )  of the country. Around 56,000 people  ( 8,000 households )  were affected as per the findings of joint assessments  ( Government Departments, Afghan Red Crescent Society, UN Agencies, and International NGOs )  conducted in these provinces. More than 145 people were killed and another 167 sustained injuries across the affected provinces. Houses, agricultural lands, livestock, and public infrastructure have also been impacted.
Some 8,910 returnees, IDPs, and people from host communities were reached with emergency outpatient health services; and 8,478 children were vaccinated to protect them against polio and measles by interagency assessment team.
In Uruzgan province, clashes between Afghan National Security Forces ( ANSF )  and an non state armed group ( NSAG )  continued along with the threat of IED attacks in Dehrawud, Gizab and Tirinkot districts. Two civilians were reportedly killed and eight others wounded by an IED detonation in Tirinkot district
Above average temperatures and below average precipitation are expected from February through April due to the prevailing La Niña conditions. Below average development of snowpack and, consequently, belowaverage snowmelt runoff is expected in the coming months, likely to reduce water available for irrigated crops. While the first crop cultivation in the upstream areas is not expected to be affected by below average water availability, crops in the downstream areas are more at risk. For the second crop cultivation, reduced seasonal water availability is expected in the country.
IOM's post arrival humanitarian assistance was provided to 554  ( 3% )  undocumented Afghans at the IOM Transit Centers in Hirat and Nimroz during the reporting period and some 222 households were reached through Protection assistance since the start of the year.
The Milak  ( Nimroz )  and Islam Qala Dogharoon  ( Hirat )  crossings with Iran are officially open to commercial traffic and movement of documented Afghanistan nationals. Afghanistan's border with Pakistan at Spin Boldak officially opened on 21 August 2020 and at Torkham on 28 September 2020.
However, I  ( Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator a.i., Ramesh Rajasingham )  do stress that the 2020 response plan was only 49 per cent funded; which is a far lower funding rate than most years. Unmet needs are a major driver of the worsening situation in 2021.
Everywhere I  ( Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator a.i., Ramesh Rajasingham )  went during my visit, people had a very simple message: we want peace and we want security. The people desperately hope that the intra Afghan negotiations result in a credible peace that is inclusive of all people, especially women and girls.
Targeted attacks on schools and educational facilities also demand a renewed commitment by all parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and adopt measures to safeguard learning spaces for the next generation
Years of crisis have displaced almost 5 million people since 2012 – and these people – families, communities, mothers, fathers, children – are forced to eke out a marginal existence in informal settlements without adequate infrastructure, including proper sanitation and safe water supply, on the fringes of cities.
These were farmers who previously were able to support themselves and their families, who fled from the violence and left behind their homes, land and livelihoods. Now they are internally displaced and living in tents on the side of a mountain with relief assistance as their only support. Similarly, almost 394,000 people across the country were forced to flee conflict in 2020.
While some $71.7m requirements have been committed by donors and the Government, a gap of $65.8m remains to be urgently mobilised to mitigate against winter suffering
The ICCT'swinterisation plan  ( a subset of the HRP )  aims to reach 2.5m people over the winter months with a range of life saving support including cash and in kind heating assistance for households, warm clothes, seasonal food support, nutrition treatment, and health services for winter sickness. As of 15 January, some 30,000 families have been reached with ESNFI winterisation support.
The revised Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan  ( HRP )  for 2018  2021 identifies 18.4 million people in humanitarian need in 2021, as a result of COVID 19, ongoing conflict and natural disasters.
Access to markets for displaced households headed by women remains challenging due to their relative lack of mobility. In the WOA Assessment, a higher proportion of female headed, displaced households reported not having had access to a marketplace or grocery store in or close to their village where they could buy food and non food items in the week prior to data collection, compared to male  headed displaced households.
A similar proportion of host community households  ( 77 per cent )  reported that they prefer to receive cash assistance over in kind support.
The pursuit of more durable shelter and WASH solutions in the HRP  [ Humanitarian Response Plan ]  from 2020 will allow for more disability sensitive design options to be implemented.
There is need to improve the provision of child friendly, age and gender appropriate awareness messages on anxiety, fear and promoting self care strategies.
2,100 children have been reached with EiE  [ Education in Emergencies ]  developed home based learning materials during the reporting period. A total of 52,742 children across 13 provinces have been reached with home based support since the start of the COVID 19 crisis.
Education is an undeniable right of children, in times of stability and crisis. Alternative education arrangements are needed to ensure millions of children do not miss out on critical learning.
The strain on pipelines for importing humanitarian foodstuffs continues to be felt with ongoing logistical bottlenecks at major hubs such as Karachi Port in Pakistan. Humanitarians request that administrative procedures and exemption certificates be provided through a fast tracked process to mitigate against further delays.
Country office staff for most FSAC  [ Food Security and Agriculture Cluster ]  partners have been limited in their ability to conduct field missions. Moreover, regional focal points are mostly self isolated at home causing a temporary gap in direct field country office coordination and interactions with beneficiaries.
FSAC  [ Food Security and Agriculture Cluster ]  partners report access impediments caused by both Government and NSAG  [ Non State Armed Groups ]  actors including interference and levy requests, creating additional delays to ongoing distributions as partners are forced to conduct individual negotiations on a case by case basis
In Nangarhar, Kunar, Balkh, Kunduz, Kandahar and Logar provinces, Protection Cluster partners report that community members – including children – are in need of enhanced psychosocial and mental health support to cope with the situation.
As part of its regular programming, World Food Programme distributed food to 167,002 food insecure people between 2 and 8 July
1,151 dignity kits were distributed to women and girls across 9 provinces.
1,036 children under the age of 5 years received blanket supplementary feeding.
763 children aged 6 59 months received treatment for Severe Acute Malnutrition  ( SAM )  and 3,074 children aged 6 59 months received treatment for Moderate Acute Malnutrition  ( MAM )  during the reporting period.
3,974 people were treated for trauma care by Health Cluster partners.
MoPH  [ Ministry of Public Health ]  data shows that as of 15 July, Kabul remains the most affected part of the country in terms of confirmed cases, followed by Hirat, Balkh, Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces
MoPH  [ Ministry of Public Health ]  data shows that as of 15 July, 81,934 people out of the population of 37.6 million have been tested.
FSAC  [ Food Security and Agriculture Cluster ]  has increased the volume of its distributions since the onset of COVID 19, with double ration measures taken to mitigate the consequences of the virus for food insecure and acutely vulnerable households.
As part of its regular programming, World Food Programme dispatched more than 53,000MT of food; distributed over 51,000MT of food; and disbursed over $5.3 million in cash based transfers between 5 March and 8 July. Overall, between 5 March and 8 July more than 5.3 million people have been reached with food assistance.
All Child Protection related activities with larger gatherings have been suspended in Hirat province, including: children's weekly classes; regular trainings for field staff on child development; and regular meetings with community and religious leaders on child protection.
During the reporting period, 7,715 people across 14 provinces received psychosocial support  ( PSS )  through different modalities. Since the start of the crisis, 198,330 people across 20 provinces have received PSS to help them cope with the mental health related consequences of COVID 19.
During the reporting period, 241 persons with specific needs  ( PSNs )  received cash assistance across the country to help them cope with the financial impact of COVID 19. Since the start of the crisis, 1,702 PSNs have received cash assistance.
Between 6 and 12 July, 90 children in Kandahar province received COVID 19 story books
1,012 IEC  [ Information, Education, and Communication ]  materials on COVID 19 were distributed across 5 provinces during the reporting period; 10,447 IEC materials have been distributed by Protection Cluster partners since the start of the crisis
There is a need for enhanced psychosocial support services and counselling across the country to address the mental health effects of COVID 19.
Protection Cluster partners report that 100 families in Kochi Khel and Hazara Khel villages in Arghandab district, Zabul province, have lost their livelihood during the COVID 19 lockdown and/or due to the intensification of the conflict, resulting in increased vulnerability
The COVID 19 outbreak comes against the backdrop of the flood season and ongoing conflict displacement, which further complicates partners' response capacity. Where they occur, the impacts of flooding and conflict are severe for the population and humanitarian assistance remains essential.
Between 6 and 12 July, ES NFI  [ Emergency Shelter and Non Food Items ]  Cluster partners distributed 313 NFI kits to 313 families with confirmed COVID 19 cases. A total of 793 NFI kits have been distributed to 739 families since the start of the crisis.
361 IEC  [ Information, Education, and Communication ]  materials were distributed across 5 provinces during the reporting period. ES NFI  [ Emergency Shelter and Non Food Items ]  Cluster partners have distributed 11,052 IEC materials across 9 provinces since the start of the response
During the reporting period, ES NFI  [ Emergency Shelter and Non Food Items ]  partners reached 898 people across 10 provinces with awareness raising sessions on the prevention of COVID 19. 506,774 people in 14 provinces have been reached with key messages since the start of the crisis.
Returnees and vulnerable households report inability to pay rent due to income loss associated with COVID 19 movement restrictions and now require cash for rent assistance, particularly in Kabul and Jalalabad. Additional rental assessments are needed across the country.