Summary of operation update:
This 12-month operation update mainly informs operation progress covering the period from 13 March 2019 until 31 March 2020. A brief operation update issued on 9 March 2020 (OU#5) informed the extension of the operation for a further six months, with a revised end date of 30 September 2020 to enable the National Society reaching targeted people with the much-needed humanitarian assistance.
Since the issuance of the Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) in May 2019, a few more needs assessments had been conducted by ARCS. The need assessment conducted from 7-19 December 2019 indicated that the situation has not improved from the past 10 months (March- December 2019) as the affected people are still living in harsh conditions.
Based on the assessment, it is estimated that at least 217,581 people (31,083 households) in six provinces (Kunar,
Nimroz, Herat, Faryab, Badghis and Jawzjan) are still struggling to cope from the effect of 2018/2019 drought and floods.
The assessment report indicated that the affected population are still in need of livelihoods and restoration activities through cash, health services, disaster risk reduction and preparedness initiatives.
Heavy snowfall, flooding and a large number of avalanches reported in different parts of Afghanistan between 12 -15 January 2020 further worsened the situation. Rapid need assessments conducted by ARCS in the flood-affected provinces1 from 12-19 January 2020 highlighted mass destructions of houses and shelters, loss of lives, public facilities and displacements of people from their homes and IDPs camps. Around 11 out of 34 provinces reported to have been affected badly - provinces with casualties and significant damage to homes and livelihoods included Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, Laghman, Herat, Badghis, Ghor, Daykundi, Bamyan and Baghlan.
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 also poses a serious threat to the communities and this compounding affect may prolong the ongoing crisis. The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) reported the first confirmed case on 24 February 2020 located in the western province of Herat, at the border with Iran. As of 20 April 2020, MoPH data shows that 996 people across 30 provinces have been confirmed to have the virus, with 33 reported deaths. Cases are expected to increase rapidly over the weeks/months ahead as community transmission escalates, creating grave implications for Afghanistan’s economy and people’s well-being.
During the first year of this operation, the ARCS and IFRC closely coordinated to reach over 181,000 people from the following areas of focus: Shelter; Livelihoods and basic needs; Health and disaster risk reduction (DRR). The gap in funding notably resulted in operation reaching significantly less than the initial target of 674,686 people in 13 provinces by end of original operation timeframe of 12 months (end date 31 March 2020). Furthermore, as the Emergency Appeal (EA) is only roughly 48 per cent funded, this has left some key sectoral areas of activities with significant funding gaps due to budget limitations - Livelihoods and basic needs; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH); DRR and Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI).
Considering the planned early recovery actions in the extended timeframe, available resources and evolving situation incountry, it is envisioned that for the remaining timeframe, special focus will be given to meeting the needs of livelihoods recovery targeting affected people with multipurpose cash grants to vulnerable households to meet their basic needs, and health in five provinces. This prioritization will enable the ARCS to continue providing life-saving assistance that meets the critical humanitarian needs of up to 209,467 people (approximately 29,924 households) affected by floods and drought from April-September 2020 in five provinces with a focus on the following areas: Health; Livelihoods and basic needs and strengthening the capacity of the National Society; alongside de-prioritization of these areas: WASH; DRR; Protection, Gender and Inclusion (PGI) and Shelter (activities already completed).
This approach also recognizes the ongoing needs of the affected people in Afghanistan predominantly in the provinces with casualties and significant damage to homes and livelihoods . In this timeframe, the response aims to carry out the unmet humanitarian responses humanitarian needs of the population affected by the 2019 floods and protracted drought while putting in place transition activities to meet longer-term needs. By end of operation, this approach taken for the remaining timeframe will enable the IFRC to support the National Society to deliver assistance and support to at least 391,188 people throughout 18 months.
“The IFRC kindly encourages increased donor support to this EA that will enable the National Society to continue to contribute to the humanitarian needs of the affected people”.