Afghanistan Humanitarian Allocation Strategy Paper Fund Timeframe: 08 - 18 April 2020 AHF

nd 2 Reserve Allocation 2020 Afghanistan Humanitarian Allocation Strategy Paper Fund Timeframe: 08 - 18 April 2020 AHF

THE AFGHANISTAN HUMANITARIAN FUND

1. The Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund is a Country-Based Pooled Fund1 (CBPF) managed by a Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) of the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs2 (OCHA) based in Kabul. Established in 2014, and under the leadership of the United Nations Assistant-Secretary General and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, its role is to support an effective, coordinated, prioritized and principled humanitarian response in Afghanistan.

2. With this reserve allocation, the AHF provides a maximum total amount of US$10,000,000.00 to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, through the reserve allocation, subject to technical/financial review of all proposals by the AHF and the respective clusters in order to ensure quality and compliance, prior to final endorsement of grant agreements by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan and the Executive Officer of UN OCHA.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE PLANS

2018 - 2021 Afghanistan HRP

1. The 2020 update to the 2018 - 2021 HRP seeks US$733 million to reach 7.1 million people with emergency life-saving humanitarian and protection assistance across the country in 2020. The HRP’s strategic objectives, which are intended to span the entire life-cycle of the response, focus on the following:

• Strategic Objective 1: Lives are saved in the areas of highest needs. • Strategic Objective 2: Protection violations are reduced and respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is increased. • Strategic Objective 3: Vulnerable people are supported to build their resilience.

COVID-19 Response Plan

2. The Afghanistan COVID-19 Multi-Sector Humanitarian Plan seeks US$108 million to mobilize activities contributing to the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak in affected and at-risk provinces, as well as to reduce humanitarian consequences of the outbreak and interruption of existing humanitarian assistance. The multi-sector plan includes emergency elements of the WHO Phase 2 plan with regard to health, but also includes activities by all other clusters in support the overall response, incl. existing activities within the HRP that can be scaled-up or extended to new areas, It is important to note that this plan is only for the initial three months of the response and is intended as a living document that will inevitably need to be revised or extended as the situation evolves.

HUMANITARIAN CONTEXT OF THIS ALLOCATION3 3. Due to the scale and spread of transmission, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020. 4. Afghanistan is likely to be significantly affected due to its weak health system and limited capacity to deal with major disease outbreaks. Afghanistan’s close geographical proximity to other affected countries puts it at heightened risk, with tens of thousands of people and commercial movements across the border e.g. from Iran each day. High internal displacement, low coverage of vaccination and ability to fight viral and bacterial infections), in combination with weak health, water and sanitation infrastructure worsen the situation. 5. As of 06 April, there are 367 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Afghanistan across 17 provinces4. To date, testing capacity is low which might account for the relatively low number of confirmed cases given the high number

1 https://www.unocha.org/our-work/humanitarian-financing/country-based-pooled-funds-cbpfs 2 http://www.unocha.org

3 HCT key messages 4 OCHA Afghanistan | COVID-19 | Daily Brief No. 23 | 31 Mar 2020

www.unocha.org The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors. Coordination Saves Lives Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund | 2nd Reserve Allocation Paper 2020 | Page 2 of 8

of people crossing borders e.g. to Iran. Reduced community testing and slow turn-around of test results remains a major concern. Health Context: 6. Afghanistan’s health system is thinly spread across the country, due to ongoing conflict and insecurity, as well as infrastructure challenges. Around 30 per cent of the population has limited access to basic health services within a 2-hour travel radius. The health system is further overburdened by mass casualty incidents and recurrent outbreaks of communicable diseases especially among IDPs. 7. Based on the rapidly spreading nature of the virus and state of the health system, there is an urgent need for enhanced multi-sectoral preparedness, operational readiness and response capacities to prevent, detect early and rapidly respond to COVID-19 as required under International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). 8. Key Issues and Priorities to be addressed in this Allocation: a. Active Community Screening in IDP sites. b. Risk communication and awareness raising in IDP sites. c. Support existing health service delivery point including isolation wards/hospitals within the IDP sites. WASH Context: 9. For 2020, the overall number of people with urgent water, sanitation and hygiene needs stands at 4.9 million. This includes all population groups – internally displaced people, shock-affected, non-displaced (conflict and natural disaster), returnees and acutely vulnerable people (those reeling from past shocks). Based on trends, the WASH Cluster estimates that out of 500,000 IDPs, around 90 per cent require lifesaving WASH assistance in 2020, predominantly in 21 provinces where the concentration of IDPs is high. According to the 2019 Whole of Afghanistan assessment, only 60 per cent of people affected by conflict and disasters have access to vital items such as soap. Unavailability of basic WASH services is more pronounced in districts that are conserved hard-to-reach 10. The key WASH responses to the COVID-19 outbreak to be addressed in this Allocation are: a. Pre-positioning of key supplies (soaps, buckets with taps, chlorine drums, sprayers, household water treatments, and latrine slabs etc.). b. Provision of hand washing facilities with functional water systems. The initial focus is on concentrated IDP sites, nutritional centers (inpatient and outpatient), border entry points, health and isolation centers upon needs, as well as schools and temporary learning spaces depending on their reopening. c. Scaling-up messaging of handwashing at community level. d. Spraying of chlorine on common equipment and solid waste management in the most at-risk public places and institutions, as well as safe drinking water supply and sanitation in isolation wards affected hotspots. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) Context: 11. Sustained ability of humanitarian staff to travel to and supply affected areas within Afghanistan is of critical importance. 12. As commercial international flights to Afghanistan have been suspended, UNHAS has been requested to establish a humanitarian air bridge to a suitable location such as UAE or Qatar. 13. This allocation supports UNHAS in maintaining its essential air services, ability to respond to relocation requests for aid workers, and provides reliable air service in support of the COVID-19 response through: a. Domestic flights: Maintain essential humanitarian air services and readiness for security and medical relocation for the next three months. b. International air bridge: Establish essential humanitarian air services and readiness for the next three months services with a 50 seat jet aircraft.

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RESPONSE STRATEGY FOR THIS ALLOCATION

COVID-19 Response – WASH Partners Maximum total amount of US$ 5,700,000

Invited AHF Partners: - United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) - Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED) - World Vision International (WVI) - Action Contre la Faim (ACF) - Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR) - New Consultancy and Relief Organization (NCRO)

Target AHF Cluster priority activities Primary location Need beneficiary partner (individuals) Entire country for (pipeline pre- positioning) Balkh: (Mazar-e-Sharif) Farah: (Farah) Faryab: (Maymana) Critical level of Hirat: (Ghoryan, Gulran, hygiene pipeline - Pre-positioning of key Guzara, Obe, Pashtun Zarghun, supplies, supplies Shindand) - Handwashing promotion Critical WASH Kabul: (Kabul) 90,000 UNICEF - Hygiene kits distribution coverage and Kunduz: (Imam Sahib, - Disinfection in at-risk hygiene practices Kunduz) common places at wide community Nimroz: (Zaranj) level in the Kandahar: (Spin Boldak) prioritized areas Nangarhar: (Muhmand Dara, Arghestan, Achin, Lalpur) Khost: (Gurbuz) Balkh: (Mazar-e-Sharif) Critical WASH - Handwashing promotion Farah: (Maymana) coverage and - Hygiene kits distribution Kunduz: (Imam Sahib, hygiene practices - Disinfection in at-risk Kunduz) at wide community 50,000 ACTED common places Takhar: (Rostaq, Taloqan) level in the Nangarhar: (Achin, Deh Bala, northern/eastern Dur Baba, Goshta) regions Badghis: (Qala-e-Naw) - Handwashing promotion Critical WASH Ghor: (Feroz Koh) - Hygiene kits distribution coverage and Hirat: (Ghoryan, Gulran, hygiene practices - Disinfection in at-risk 80,000 WVI Guzara, Hirat, Injil, Karukh, at wide community common places Kohsan, Kushk, level in the

Obe, Pashtun Zarghun) western region Critical hygiene - Handwashing promotion Ghor: (Feroz Koh, services and - Hygiene kits distribution practices at Shahrak, Taywarah 52,600 ACF - Disinfection in at-risk nutritional centres Tolak) common places and SAM household levels All country for (pipeline pre- positioning) Critical level of - Pre-positioning of key Badghis: (Qala-e-Naw) hygiene pipeline supplies Balkh: (Mazar-e-Sharif) supplies, WASH - Handwashing promotion coverage and Farah: (Farah) 120,000 DACAAR - Hygiene kits distribution hygiene practices Faryab: (Maymana) - Disinfection in at-risk at wide community Hirat: (Ghoryan, Guzara, Hirat, common places level in the Injil, Karukh) prioritized areas Kunduz: (Imam Sahib,

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Kunduz) Nimroz: (Zaranj) Takhar: (Taloqan) Nangrahar: (Muhmand Dara, Achin, Deh Bala, Dur Baba, Goshta, Khogyani, Lalpur, Nazyan, Pachir Wa Agam, Sherzad) Balkh: (Chemtal, Dehdadi, Nahr-e-Shahi) Hirat: (Guzara, Shindand) Critical WASH Kabul: (Kabul) - Handwashing promotion coverage and Kandahar: (Maruf, Reg, - Hygiene kits distribution hygiene practices Shorabak) at wide community 60,000 NCRO - Disinfection in at-risk Nangarhar: (Bati Kot, Behsud, level in Kabul and common places Jalalabad, Kama, Kot, Kuz in the southern and Kunar, Shinwar, Surkh Rod) eastern regions Total 34 Provinces 452,600 6

COVID-19 Response – Health Partners Maximum total amount of US$ 300,000

Invited AHF Partner: - World Vision International (WVI)

Target AHF Cluster priority activities Primary location Need beneficiary partner (individuals) Active Community Screening (to early identify and mitigate - Community Screening teams the risk of social transmission) to identify cases and referral 72,660 of suspected cases to the Risk Communication

provincial isolation centre for (To improve Herat: (Enjil, Shahrak-e- confirmation and treatment. community

Sabz and Clinic Area/ awareness and - Training of 200 faith leaders Shaidayee Informal Site) understanding and - Printing IEC material. to involve - Disinfection of public places WVI 3 MHNTs working in the communities on the

and residences of suspected prevention mentioned IDP sites, Herat and confirmed cases within activities). Ambulance and Isolation IDP sites incl. neighbouring Hospital Support Health residences. Service Delivery - Provision of PEE kits, and 200 other infection prevention points. (to improve safety and protection and control materials. of the frontline health care providers and supporters) Total 4 72,860 1

COVID-19 Response – UNHAS Maximum total amount of US$ 3,700,000

Invited AHF Partner: - World Food Programme (WFP) / United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund | 2nd Reserve Allocation Paper 2020 | Page 5 of 8

Target AHF Cluster priority activities Primary location Need beneficiary partner (individuals) - Maintaining domestic flights Bamian, Chakhcharan, and ability to conduct Faizabad, Gardez, Ghazni, 1,000

Hirat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Domestic services: security-related and medical Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz, Regular UNHAS air relocation/evacuation Lal (Sarjangal), Lashkargah, flights to all locations - Maintain transport capacity WFP Maimana, Mazar-e-Sharif, in Afghanistan for the COVID-19 response (UNHAS) Nili, Qala-e-Naw, Sharana,

Sheberghan, International

- International flights (air Tarin Kot and Nimroz. air bridge

bridge) for the humanitarian 1,300 community and vital supplies UAE and/or Qatar Total 22 2,300 1

ALLOCATION PRIORITIES

14. This Reserve Allocation is provided to address prioritized humanitarian needs in the country. Clusters and Partners have been pre-selected on basis of consultations with the respective clusters and partners and on criteria that enable an immediate response. Cluster responses and projects address critical humanitarian needs in an urgent and expedited fashion. PROJECT AND PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDANCE 15. The AHF allocations provides funding to eligible local, national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and United Nations (UN) agencies / funds and programs. 16. Local, national and international NGOs are required to pass the AHF eligibility process5, including Grant Management System6 (GMS) registration, as well as partner capacity and due diligence assessments before being approved to submit proposals in the GMS. Localization of aid and incorporating local/national Non- Governmental Organizations into the overall humanitarian response is a strategic priority of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund. 17. Projects must meet HRP strategic objectives, be included in the HRP (OPS7 coded), meet the respective cluster strategy and the COVID-19 Multi-Sector Humanitarian Country Plan. COVID-19 responses must be based on respective guidance incl. https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/covid-19-outbreak-readiness- and-response and specific guidance by clusters, task forces and specialised working groups. 18. All proposals must be supported/endorsed by the respective clusters, preventing duplication of activities across clusters/projects/proposals and partners. 19. Proposals/Projects must meet the allocation priorities and funding requirements for this specific allocation. 20. Proposals must include robust risk mitigation practices demonstrating clear location-specific context analysis and understanding of residual risks. As such, all proposals must be reviewed and endorsed by the Access & Security Unit of OCHA Afghanistan prior to SRC reviews: a) Security: Proposals must demonstrate a clearly articulated understanding of the risks specific to the program activities, organizational profile and security situation within and around the proposed area of operations. In addition, specific mitigation measures must be referenced which the organization can put in place to offset these risks. b) Access: Proposals must clearly illustrate a nuanced understanding of the program specific context, relevant stakeholders and conflict dynamics in the proposed area of operations; as well as a means by which the partner will be able to successfully negotiate meaningful access to operate within the detailed context. 21. While providing humanitarian services may be required in urban centers and IDP locations, delivering critical live-saving humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.

5 CBPF Global Guidelines, Annex 10, https://www.unocha.org/legacy/what-we-do/humanitarian-financing/cbpf-global-guidelines 6 OCHA, Grant Management System, https://cbpf.unocha.org/ 7 OCHA, Online Project System, https://ops.unocha.org/Home.aspx

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund | 2nd Reserve Allocation Paper 2020 | Page 6 of 8

22. Mainstreaming cross-cutting issues such as PSEA, protection, gender, age, disability and accountability to affected populations is an important requirement for all projects. Therefore, all protection components of proposals must be reviewed and endorsed by the Protection Cluster prior to SRC reviews. 23. Use and registration of the ‘Gender with Age Marker’ (GAM) is a requirement for all proposals. The GAM is available at https://iascgenderwithagemarker.com and provides an automatic and objective calculation of the quality of humanitarian programming. 24. The use of cash (including multi-purpose cash), where feasible and appropriate is to be conducted in accordance with AHF Minimum Requirements for Cash–Based Programming including Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) and by using the toolkit created by the Afghanistan Cash Voucher Working Group (CVWG). As such, all proposals that include cash-based modalities must be reviewed and endorsed by the CCVWG prior to SRC reviews. 25. District-level multi-sectoral collaboration and complementarity between the selected clusters in order to provide a comprehensive package through convergence of services is a requirement wherever possible. 26. Partners are required to declare other funding resources, including bilateral and organizational funding. 27. Projects should link humanitarian relief activities to sustainable solutions i.e. by identifying and collaborating with key development partners at the locations of the projects and close coordination with the local authorities, including the Directorates of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. Projects with innovative sustainable activities and linkages to durable solutions will be assessed favorably. 28. Proposals are required to demonstrate best value for money (VFM): • Projects supported by additional donors/funding sources are required to demonstrate how funding will be complementary and not duplicative; • Partners are required to indicate the amounts and sources of co-funding of projects; • Proposals demonstrating better cost effectiveness will be prioritized, where: - for comparable activities and outputs, the total cost is less; - the cost per beneficiary ratio is reasonable; - the level of support costs is reasonable and in line with accepted levels for a given type of activity; - the proposed period of implementation is adequate and represents best use of resources at that time. • In cases where clusters wish to endorse more than one proposal for the same activities within the same geographic area, robust justification must be made for the efficacy of such planning. • Whenever possible, and in order to limit overheads and administrative costs, implementing partners should not enter into subcontracting agreements. However, partnerships with/between local/national NGOs are encouraged, provided that the local/national NGO partner has not failed the eligibility assessment or AHF funding eligibly suspended. • Clusters may develop additional prioritisation criteria based on programmatic specificities and best practices, considering the general categories: Strategic relevance Alignment with HRP Strategic Objectives. Alignment with Sector Objectives. Alignment with priorities of this allocation. Program relevance Based on in-depth and up to date needs analysis. Links objectives with activities, outputs and outcomes. Covers hard to reach and under-served areas. Cost effectiveness Proposals demonstrating stronger cost effectiveness and cost per beneficiary ratio. Proposals demonstrating the lowest cost compared with activities and outputs. Proposals demonstrating reasonable support costs. The proposed period of implementation represents best use of resources.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund | 2nd Reserve Allocation Paper 2020 | Page 7 of 8

Management and Demonstrable field-based assessment and post distribution monitoring monitoring8 mechanisms in place. Feedback and complaints mechanisms in place. Indicators aligned with standard sector outcome indicators. Engagement with Partner engages in sector and other relevant coordination meetings. coordination Partner shares information and engages with coordination mechanisms. Partner mechanisms engages and coordinates with government authorities and structures.

29. The AHF Grant Management System (GMS) is used to administer all aspects of this allocation, available at https://chfafghanistan.unocha.org 30. All products, goods and services must be project/allocation specific and for their direct use. 31. The maximum approved period for projects funded by this reserve allocation is 6 months.

AHF INFORMATION, FEEDBACK AND COMPLAINTS MECHANISM 32. Further information about the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund is available at: https://www.unocha.org/ahf 33. General correspondence to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund should be sent to [email protected] Inquiries can be made by phone via the AHF Call Centre: +93 (0)79 300 11 39 34. Complaints regarding the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund and the OCHA Humanitarian Financing Unit (HFU) should be sent directly to [email protected] All complaints are received by the OCHA Head of Office (Custodian of the Fund), addressed with the Head of Humanitarian Financing and critical issues are referred to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for decision-making. 35. Information about donor contributions and previous AHF allocations is available on the OCHA CBPF Business Intelligence Portal at https://gms.unocha.org/content/cbpf-contributions and the UNDP Multi- Partner Trust Fund (MPTF) ‘GATEWAY’ platform at http://mptf.undp.org/factsheet/fund/HAF10

ALLOCATION TIMELINE | 2nd AHF RESERVE ALLOCATION 2020

Allocation Time (Launch of Allocation Paper to Disbursement of Funds): 10 Working Days

Step Date Responsible Activity 1 22 Mar – 05 Apr Partners Partner / Cluster / AHF / HC Consultation Process Cluster AHF consults with Cluster, partners and stakeholders, identifies needs, AHF key gaps and potential partners. HC 2 05 Apr Partners Consolidation of Cluster Priorities and Funding Requirements Cluster Leads Partners, Cluster and AHF consolidate recommendations for locations, AHF activities, partners and funding requirements. 3 06 Apr AHF AHF Presents Draft Allocation Strategy to HC HC AHF presents Draft Allocation Paper for HC, AHF incorporates HC guidance. 4 07 Apr HC AHF Advisory Board Endorsement AB HC seeks AB endorsement of the Allocation Strategy.

5 07 Apr AHF AHF Creates Allocation in GMS Final technical verification and system testing. 6 08 Apr AHF Release of Allocation Paper to Cluster AHF provides the Allocation Paper to Cluster Leads for dissemination to their partners. AHF sends invitations to pre-selected partners inviting them to submit proposals as per Cluster recommendations. 7 08 – 11 Apr Invited Partners Invited and pre-selected partners submit proposals in GMS.

8 All monitoring results are shared with the relevant cluster(s). Monitoring performance indicators of the fund are provided to the AHF Advisory Board on an annual basis, as well as upon request.

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8 08 – 11 Apr Cluster Leads Clusters and AHF support Partner Proposal Development AHF Clusters Leads and AHF provide workspace and support to Partners Invited Partners during the proposal development. Partner submits proposal in GMS 9 09 Apr Cluster Leads Formation of Strategic Review Committees (SRCs) and Technical AHF Review Committees (TRCs) at Cluster Level Cluster conduct SRC election process to ensure equal representation (UN. INGO, NNGO). Cluster and AHF develop an allocation-specific Balanced Scorecard. Cluster form TRCs with technical experts. 10 12 - 13 Apr SRCs Strategic review (via VTC, if needed) TRCs SRCs review and score project proposals at individual cluster level. AHF Cluster Leads ensures fair and transparent process, based on SOP. AHF Technical review (via VTC, if needed) Invited Partners TRCs, Cluster Leads and AHF jointly review proposal, provide feedback to implementing partner, ensure that proposal comply with Cluster Standards, AHF Operational Manual and CBPF Global Guidelines. Finalization of proposals Partners revise proposals as needed. 11 14 Apr AHF Budget Review and Clearance CBPFS AHF provides feedback to implementing partners. Partners revise proposal/budget as needed. AHF submits budgets to CBPFS for Finance approval. Following CBPFS approval AHF prepares Grant Agreement. 12 15 - 16 Apr HC Approval of Grant Agreements by the HC AHF 13 15 Apr onwards Invited Partners Partners countersign Grant Agreement 14 16 Apr onwards AHF AHF submits FTR request to MPTF 15 17 Apr onwards MPTF Disbursement of Funds to Partners OCHA/HQ MPTF disbursed the Fund to UN agencies. OCHA/HQ EO AHF submits Grant Agreements for final approval by the OCHA Executive Officer (EO). Following EO signature, disbursement of grants.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org