Attachments
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2. Rationale
2.1 Background
Forty years of war, recurrent natural disasters, increasing poverty and COVID-19 have deeply affected the people of Afghanistan. Conflict continued to induce physical and psychological harm and is forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of people every year. Civilian casualties remain staggeringly high, with no sign of a lull in fighting and women and children continue to be disproportionately impacted. Then, on 1 May 2021, barely two (2) months following the Doha peace agreement and against the backdrop of foreign troops withdrawal, Afghanistan experienced an escalation in conflict levels. On 15 August 2021, conflict abated and a transition in national government regimes took place, from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the incoming Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The change of national government, has led to the evacuations from Afghanistan of foreign and national individuals, the flight of foreign aid agencies and their staffs. In addition, it may have possibly prompted significant internal displacements, although their scale and magnitude are, as of yet, uncertain. Seen in the context of the incoming winter season, such disruptions threaten a worsening, massive, humanitarian crisis and loss in human lives.
2.2 Intended impact
Given the lack of general understanding in the new realities in the ground, REACH Initiative, in coordination with ICCT, fills in the absence of information by launching a Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) in the province of Kabul. REACH contends that such a focused assessment in the province of Kabul will provide a direct and an engaged coverage on the new realities faced by the people of the largest city in Afghanistan. Findings from this assessment aim to improve the understanding of the current situation to inform strategic decision-making processes, and ongoing and/or planned humanitarian interventions in Afghanistan.