NRC Afghanistan - Fact Sheet Updated May 2016 Basic Info: Established: Country Office: Field offices: Budget 2016: Budget 2015: Country Director: Phone: E-mail: International staff: National staff: Core Activities: 2003 Kabul Balkh, Faryab, Herat, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Sar-i-Pul, and Badghis 121 million NOK 117 million NOK Olivier David +93 (0) 79 97 97 748 [email protected] 10 409 Donors: Main Donors: NMFA, NORAD, DANIDA, ECHO, EuropeAid (DevCo), and SIDA Other Donors: DfID, UNOCHA, UNHCR Humanitarian and political context : Afghanistan remains in a state of protracted humanitarian crisis, with the increase in provinces affected by conflict and substantial exposure to natural disasters becoming distinguishing characteristics. In the first quarter of 2016, 90,119 individuals fled their homes due to conflict, whilst 5,164 individuals were affected by natural disasters- notably flooding/ heavy rainfall, landslides, and avalanches. 23 of 34 provinces had recorded some level of forced displacement, whilst armed opposition groups controlled a number of districts (15, with another 17 significantly contested districts). Additionally, fragmentation of armed groups brought fighting to previously quiet areas, forcing more displacement in new, hard-to-reach areas. Both conflict and natural disaster-driven displacement has accelerated urbanization in Afghanistan, furthering impoverishing vulnerable communities and demographics (particularly women) and straining relations with host communities with competing access to land and basic services. It is highly probable that all of these internal trends will continue throughout 2016, leading to more people needing humanitarian protection assistance. Afghanistan has suffered significant increase in refugee returnees - both documented and undocumented- from Pakistan and Iran; since 2002 more than six million have returned, both spontaneously and through forced deportations. The estimated 225,000 Pakistani refugees from the Waziristan region that sought refuge in southeast Afghanistan (Paktika and Khost) have entered their second year in displacement. Although 2016 is expected to witness reduction in refugee numbers, partly as a result of improved biometric registration and partly due to the expectation that some will begin to return home, an estimated 175,000 are expected to remain. An emergent phenomenon is that of the recent spike of high-risk overland migration into Europe, Afghans comprise the second largest nationality (behind Syrians) at 26% - there is still an analytical deficit on the drivers and target groups in this recent trend. The total response requirements identified across different sectors to meet the needs of vulnerable people across Afghanistan in 2016 amounts to a total assistance requirement of approximately 8.3 million people. However, only an estimated 6.5 million of this will be provided, with decreasing amounts of funding available following the withdrawal of international militaries at a time with increasing humanitarian needs and security risks. Monitoring data concerning needs (for both assistance and more for protection) remains weak, with significant caseloads undocumented or unregistered. Humanitarian access remains a perennial issue, particularly in a period of diminishing state control, and Norwegian Refugee Council © 2016 For more information visit www.nrc.no Page 1 of 3 requires innovation from humanitarian actors to overcome security challenges to reach the most vulnerable. In particular, promoting gender equality in humanitarian action is a critical issue requiring strategic attention, as there has endemically been a low quality of humanitarian access to most vulnerable women and girls. NRC in Afghanistan: NRC in Afghanistan is providing protection and assistance to IDPs, returnees, refugees and host communities in Afghanistan through: Education: From January- April 2016, 14,787 (4,768 female; 10,019 male) children, youth, teachers, and education personnel benefited from the education programme in Afghanistan, of whom almost half were girls and women. Emergency Response: The Emergency programme assisted 27,059 (13,771 female; 13,288 male) persons affected by conflict or natural disasters across Afghanistan so far in 2016. Information, Counselling, and Legal Assistance (ICLA): Over two million people have been assisted by NRC’s ICLA programme since it started in Afghanistan in 2003. In 2016, the ICLA team has directly assisted approximately 18,387 persons (8,362 female; 10,025 male), primarily through rights-based and legal protection of those forcibly displaced. Shelter/WASH: From January- April 2016, NRC assisted 290 families (1,475 individuals) through the construction of one and two room shelters. Each household was provided with an individual latrine and received hygiene training and a hygiene kit. The activities were implemented in Nangarhar, Kabul, Kunduz, Laghman, and Khost Provinces. The shelter/ WASH team also constructed 57 single latrines with hand washing facilities nearby EiE classes in Gulan Camp in Khost Province, benefitting a total of 5,900 school children and staff members so far. Regional Programming: The Afghan Uprooted People (AUP) is a regional programme funded by EuropeAid targeting refugees in Pakistan and Iran as well as IDPs and returnees in Afghanistan. The overall programme objective is to establish and operationalize a regional approach to respond to the issues of protracted displaced Afghans and returnees in a holistic manner, where the three country programmes collaborate and share information, providing the ability to support Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan with preparations for return. The programme entails various activities in three areas; ICLA, education, and livelihoods with key cross-cutting issues including advocacy (such as on the National IDP policy) and coordination. During Year 1 of the programme (March 2015 until February 2016), NRC, on a regional level, reached a total of 22,830 beneficiaries (9,865 female;12,965 male). NRC Priorities for 2016 and Beyond: With an overall objective of contributing to a needs-based response with integrated durable solutions and basic protection for displacement-affected populations in Afghanistan, NRC will in 2016 strive to expand its coverage in the areas of highest need, particularly in under-served provinces such as Zabul, Paktika, and Badghis. Whilst increasingly focusing on the emergency state across all the core competencies, NRC will also look to strengthening synergies between its programmes and strive towards expanding its regional funding possibilities to further develop its regional and cross- border programming. Efforts will also be made to increase NRC Afghanistan programme’s overall gender focus, including developing its capacities to engage in activities to mitigate Gender based Violence (GBV) and the promotion of Gender in Humanitarian Action aimed at conducting gender analysis and assessments from the field to help inform existing core competencies. NRC will also explore evidence-based options to reduce the vulnerability of Afghans considering highrisk migration to Europe, potentially linking its humanitarian relief activities with resilience initiatives and early recovery programmes. NRC core activities update in Afghanistan: NRC is implementing activities in the areas of Education, ICLA, Shelter, WASH and Emergency Response in Northern, Eastern, Southern, Western, and Central Afghanistan. Norwegian Refugee Council © 2016 For more information visit www.nrc.no Page 2 of 3 Education: The overall objective of NRC’s Education programme is to ensure that the right to quality education and sustainable livelihood for Afghan children and youth is fulfilled, through providing vulnerable and displaced children and youth with access to quality education in a protective environment as well as sustainable livelihoods opportunities. The programme encompasses a Youth Education Pack (YEP) component, combining vocational training with literacy and life skills classes, Accelerated Learning Programmes (ALP), Early Childhood Development (ECD), and Education in Emergencies (EiE). As part of the EiE component, in 2016, NRC will continue working with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to increase the capacity of the Afghan government to respond to the urgent educational needs of children affected by conflict and natural disasters. ICLA: NRC’s ICLA programme aims to ensure that vulnerable displacement affected populations are able to claim and exercise their rights which are fundamental to reaching durable solutions. The programme employs statutory and traditional dispute resolution mechanisms in order to resolve cases related to Housing, Land, and Property (HLP) rights, civil documentation, and other rights or social services of importance to displacement affected populations. ICLA beneficiaries receive direct assistance through community visits, encashment centre visits, community sensitization sessions, trainings, legal assistance, as well as individual counselling and information packages. The programme also provides internship for students of Law and Sharia'a faculties to build their capacities in legal case management and counseling. In 2016, the programme rolled out its newly revised training manuals and is working towards utilising the findings of the 2015 civil documentation study. Following the study on Women’s Housing, Land and Property Rights (WHLP), the programme will continue to strive towards increasing the ratio of female beneficiaries across its projects. Shelter/WASH: The overall objective of NRC’s Shelter programme (including WASH) is to ensure displacement affected vulnerable families in Afghanistan (including refugees) are physically protected, enjoy access to education facilities, and benefit from reduced risks of morbidity and mortality due to water borne disease. To this end, the programme provides targeted beneficiaries with access to durable shelter solutions, depending on the status of land tenure, as well as education infrastructure, potable drinking water, and household latrines. Shelters are primarily constructed through a community driven approach which is predominantly cash-based. As a leading shelter organisation, NRC has also been a chief advocate for the need to ‘build back better’ through the adoption of shelter designs incorporating Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) measures. In 2016, NRC continues to focus on areas of large nexus of return and displacement (such as Nangarhar) and also assisting Pakistani refugees in Khost Province. Emergency Response: NRC’s Emergency programme responds to the needs of both conflict-induced IDPs and those affected by natural disasters, tailoring each response to meet the needs of the most vulnerable, including host community members. Emergency response continues to expand its scope in 2016 to cover needs of undocumented returnees in Eastern Afghanistan. Under this programme, targeted beneficiaries are provided with Unconditional Cash Transfers (UCT), Cash-for-Shelter (CFS), Cash-for-Work (CFW), and Non-Food Item (NFI) kits. Acknowledging the current displacement trends, NRC will increasingly focus on urban and semi-urban areas for its programming in Afghanistan. NRC plays a central logistical role through stockpiling for the Emergency Response Mechanism in Afghanistan, a partnership which advocates for a coordinated response and standardised approaches to emergency response across Afghanistan. Through its ongoing Humanitarian Access component, a number of initiatives are designed to promote operational access for humanitarian agencies through high-level coordination and capacity building, and supporting innovative work on improving understanding and acceptance of humanitarian work in Afghanistan. NRC also plays a leadership and coordination role in the humanitarian community on ‘protection’ issues, through coordinating the Protection Cluster and other bodies, and has led efforts to ensure protection mainstreaming is a priority of the wider humanitarian community through targeted interventions in the Southern, Eastern, Northern, Western, and Central regions and supported operations and programming in the North-eastern and Central Highlands regions. Norwegian Refugee Council © 2016 For more information visit www.nrc.no Page 3 of 3
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