Afghanistan: Emergency Preparedness & Response

The project supports the most vulnerable people whose lives have been affected by war, natural disaster or persistent poverty. Assistance is targeted at internally displaced people and the most vulnerable (children, women, the elderly). The project targets 1,600 households (over 11,200 people) and provides financial support to cover acute food needs and immediate repairs to their homes.

The project focuses on providing humanitarian assistance to internally displaced people who have fled their homes since May 2021 as a result of the Taliban's armed advance and their clash with government troops. Some 1,350 households (approximately 9,450 people) will receive financial support for 4 months to cover their acute food needs.

These financial resources allow us to respond immediately to the life-saving needs of the population and to fill the gaps that other humanitarian organisations are currently unable to meet. Since October 2021, the funds have been used to provide financial support to cover the rent needs of internally displaced people, meet acute food needs or support households returning home. At the same time, we plan to allocate part of these resources to so-called winterization activities (providing shelter, providing nutritious food, heating for households, providing winter clothing, etc.) in view of the upcoming winter and the large number of people without sufficient access to basic necessities of life. 

This project supports the most vulnerable people affected or displaced by conflict and/or natural disaster by providing needs-based response through the provision of multi-purpose cash (MPC) to support cash-for-rent and transportation and household non-food items (NFIs).
Especially within the cultural context where people living with additional vulnerabilities may be more at risk, PIN identifies female-headed, child-headed, elderly headed households, people living with disabilities, pregnant and lactating mothers and families with infants, ensuring equal access to humanitarian assistance through appropriate modalities of either multi-purpose cash and/or NFIs. In addition, as well as meeting the needs of displaced populations, PIN supports those unable to flee from conflict.
This project is funded by USAID/OFDA and is part of a countrywide humanitarian response to meet the life-saving needs of affected populations and part of PIN’s wider strategy to provide humanitarian assistance. The proposed sectors, see multipurpose cash as central to emergency response in Afghanistan to help shock-affected people to meet their basic needs in a manner that upholds their dignity. Especially in a context like Afghanistan where markets have demonstrated resilience in the face of conflict and disaster, multipurpose cash also allows affected populations more immediate access to life-saving needs including shelter, as a large number of affected populations are likely to rent. The provision of multipurpose cash also contributes to minimising protection concerns, as improved access to safe shelter decreases risks of abuse, assault, or violence, especially for women and girls.

Humanitarian aid involves provision of direct financial assistance to communities hit by humanitarian crisis. In providing such assistance, we attempt to cover the basic needs of the local population, such as food, drinking water, shelter and essential facilities.

The beneficiaries of such assistance usually play an important role in planning and implementing humanitarian measures. Direct feedback through regular contact with individuals, but also with local community development committees ensure that assistance provided goes towards satisfaction of current needs.

Although natural catastrophe and conflicts have a negative effect on all of their victims, the most vulnerable groups – children, pregnant women, the elderly, orphans, single mothers and widows – are at greatest risk after such events, so People in Need provides special assistance to such groups in the form of financial grants to cover their specific needs, or in individual cases we refer them to the relevant institution (mainly in medical situations or in cases requiring protection of children and women). 

In 2012, People in Need joined a consortium of international non-profit organisations, the Emergency Response Mechanism, providing immediate evaluation of situations and aid in emergency situations.