Projects

Short Description:

Overall goal

The main objective is to provide life-saving emergency winterization assistance to vulnerable populations (including returnees, IDPs and local hosting communities) and to foster peaceful coexistence and reintegration of returnees and IDPs with local/host communities.

Expected results

Improving the community basic and productive infrastructure facilities, in-cash and in-kind support for subsistence,

• Promoting representation in community decision-making structures, and Employability, Employment, and Entrepreneurship (EEE) with specific focus on women and youth empowerment (WYE).

• Providing essential life-saving assistance through direct cash assistance to vulnerable families;

• Increase protection outcomes by preventing and mitigating protection risks as follows: Mitigate forced displacement due to inability to cope with winter conditions; Mitigate morbidity and danger of hypothermia among the most vulnerable and persons with specific needs (children, elderlies, disabled, homeless, etc.); Mitigate deterioration of health conditions among the affected population; Mitigate gender-based violence (GBV) incidents related to overcrowded shelter conditions generated by lack of heating capacity; Mitigate community tensions related to access to fuel and shelter; and mitigate negative coping mechanisms related to lack of heating capacity.

Target group / Beneficiaries

The total number of targeted direct beneficiaries of UNHCR's activities in regard to winterization will be approx. 3,250 families or 22,750 individuals (with an estimated family size of 7 individuals). The winterization intervention will provide equitable assistance to the most vulnerable individuals. This targeted assistance will particularly help vulnerable women, the elderly, disabled, and children who may be more susceptible to protection risks caused by the harsh winter season.

The total number of targeted direct beneficiaries of UNHCR's activities in regard to ‘Community-based Protection Measures’ (CPMs) will be approx. 3,700 families or 25,900 individuals (with an estimated family size of 7 individuals).

UNHCR’s direct counterpart in the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) is the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR). UNHCR is also working with numerous line ministries. UNHCR works with 18 national and 4 international partners to implement programmes across the country and advocates and works with development actors to support the Government’s policies and national priority programmes for interim and longer term solutions. Partners for the winterisation include: the Central Afghanistan Welfare Commitee (CAWC) – for Central Highlands, the Norwegian Project Office-Rural Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (NPO) – for North and Northeast regions, the Afghan Planning Agency (APA) – for the Eastern and for the Southern Region, Ansari Rehabilitation Association for Afghanistan (ARAA) – for Western Region and WATAN Social and Technical Services Association – for the Central Region.

The geographical areas of implementation for winterization assistance mainly include provinces in Central, Central Highlands, Northern and some provinces from Eastern and Western Afghanistan that are usually affected by extreme winters. UNHCR runs 1 Country Office in Kabul, 2 Sub-Offices In Jalalabad and Mazar and 6 Field Offices in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz and Bamyan.

Activities

1) Facilitating access to basic and productive infrastructure facilities (for social cohesion and peaceful coexistence with local host communities)

Modality: community contracting and cash for work

- Rehabiliation of 30 water points, wells and reservoirs,

- Rehabiliation of one irrigation canal, culvert, and drainage channel,

- Rehabiliation of access road, and

- Construction of 10 Grape SOLAR drying rooms

- Construction of women and youth community and training centres

2) Employability, Employment, and Entrepreneurships (EEE) for self-reliance, with special attention to women and youth empowerment (WYE):

- Supporting 216 apprenticeships (job placements including women) in partnerships with private sector,

- Market-based and oriented vocational trainings for 550 youth (including women),

- Support establishing 70 self-help groups and 281 small businesses with market linkages in local productive/economic sectors (bee keeping, poultry farming, dish antenna services, shoe making, confectionary, greenhouses, dairy processing, embroidery & tailoring)

- Entrepreneurship trainings (in partnerships with ILO) for 200 youth (including women)

- Persons with Specific Needs programme (in-kind and cash assistance for business support), 5,860 inidividuals

- Supporting 414 women in carpet sector and connecting them to global markets in USA, France, Germany, and UK in partnerships with social enterprises (e.g. Turqousie Mountain, ARZU Hope) through UNHCR’s Global MADE51 initiative.

- Code4Fun: Under innovation for child protection, Code4Fun is supporting 40 students (girls and boys) to improve their creative skills by creating a safe, secure, and friendly place. Besides teaching students the coding skills, the ‘code4fun’ also focuses on enhancing students’ self-esteem and confidence through interactive sessions on interpersonal, leadership, and teamwork skills.

UNHCR will continue to incorporate AGDM (Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming) in its operational activities, in particular in the Needs Assessment exercise, to ensure that people of concern from different age groups and diverse backgrounds are assessed and consulted in order that all vulnerable families, with particular attention to the female households, are included in the programme.

Context

During the last winter season (2016/2017), 33 out of 34 provinces were affected by extreme weather conditions that included heavy snowfall, avalanches and rain related disasters. As of February 2017, 194 deaths were reported and a number of people were injured as a result of the harsh weather conditions, in addition to homes, properties and livelihoods destroyed giving rise to numerous protection risks and negative coping mechanisms, among them forced displacement. Based on lessons learned during the last winter season and considering findings of various researches, preparedness is of paramount importance in order to save lives and design response measures for life-saving assistance.

Given the possibility of cold snaps and periods of severe weather, the need to ensure cohesion and coordination of winterization efforts remains significant. Afghanistan consists of 70% mountainous areas at high altitude making populations located in these areas more vulnerable to winter conditions. Furthermore, 21 of the country’s 34 provinces across the central, Central Highlands, North, North-Eastern and Westerns regions not only experience the most extreme and lasting winter temperatures but also host large IDP and recent returnee populations.