In-kind Food Assistance in Balkh, Chemtal, Nahr-e-Shahi, and Sholgareh districts of Balkh province

Objectives

The HNO 2023 states that Afghanistan is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis with a very real risk of systemic collapse and human catastrophe. 28.3 million people will need urgent humanitarian assistance in order to survive as the country enters its 3rd consecutive year of drought like conditions and the 2nd year of crippling economic decline, while still reeling from the effects of 40 years of conflict and recurrent natural disasters. High levels of unemployment and sustained inflation of key commodity prices have caused the average HH’s debt to increase, challenging people’s coping mechanisms and thwarting the already fragile economy’s ability to adapt to shocks. While in previous years, humanitarian needs have been largely driven by conflict, the key drivers of humanitarian need in 2023 are multidimensional: drought, climate change, protection threats, particularly for women and girls, and the economic crisis. HHs spend the highest proportion of their income on food, to the detriment of other basic needs. Pre-existing vulnerabilities among assessed populations also indicate higher levels of need, or more commonly, higher levels of economic insecurity and/or reduced access to income and livelihoods. HHs with at least one member with disability was found to be more economically vulnerable than other households, being more likely to report debt and to report a higher average debt. 2.4 million PWDs are in urgent need of humanitarian assistances.

The WFP Afghanistan Situation Report released in Jun 2023 indicates that 15.3 million people are projected to be acutely food-insecure between May and Oct 2023, including 2.4 million PWDs; 2.8 million people in (IPC) Phase 4 (Emergency).

Balkh province is identified in IPC Phase 3 (crisis) in AHF’s 1st Reserve Allocation Strategy paper with 55% of the population estimated to be food insecure (Crisis and Emergency). The latest IPC analysis indicates that 45% (638,737 individuals) of the population in Balkh are classified in IPC phase 3 and 10% (141,942 individuals) in IPC phase 4.
In order to respond to the immediate and urgent food needs, AWRO proposes to provide in-kind food packages to 2200 vulnerable and affected HHs in Balkh Province (15400 individuals): - 550 HHs in Chimtal
- 550 HHs in Sholgareh
- 550 HHs in Nahr-e-Shahi
- 550 HHs in Balkh
Each HH will receive 4 food packages to cover 4 months’ 50% food needs. The Distribution will be done in two distribution rounds, each round covering two months’ packages. Each package will contain the following items: 1.
Wheat Flour (50 KGs)
2.
Vegetable Oil (4 Liters)
3.
Pulses (4 KGs)
4.
Salt (0.5 KG)
This will cover 50% of the monthly food basket for the covered households as defined by the FSAC in the latest Response Packages Guidelines. Each package will cost 37.5$ per package (50% monthly food basket).
This assistance will cover a significant portion of food insecure HHs in the target locations. Provision of the food support will make sure that the target families will have enough food to meet the urgent needs which will contribute to enhance their food security and consumption score. In addition, this will prevent the covered families from engaging in negative coping strategies due to lack of access to enough food. As for the modality, the in-kind approach faces fewer risks compared to the Cash modality which is prone to higher risks such as theft, loss, and diversion. The communities accept and support the in-kind assistance modality. The in-kind modality also contributes to the well-being and protection of women and PWDs by ensuring that they will not be required to confront challenges when buying food items from the markets. AWRO will carry out all the project activities in close coordination with the FSAC, UNOCHA, FAO, and WFP regional points in the northern region to ensure a coordinated implementation and avoid duplication of services and assistances.