Afghanistan Crisis Response Plan 2020 - 2021 | Global Crisis Response Platform

Year

CRP last updated: October 06 2021

Funding last updated:

$115,830,000

Funding required

20,400,000

People in need

1,926,000

People Targeted

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IOM Vision

IOM Afghanistan assists people in need across the country with timely and effective life-saving humanitarian support, and with stabilization, including people affected by conflict and natural disaster, vulnerable returnees and migrants, and impacted host communities. IOM works to stabilize communities and build the resilience of people to mitigate risks, to recover from crises, and to reintegrate people returning home in a sustainable and holistic manner. IOM works across the humanitarian-development nexus, promoting inclusion, equality, human rights and access to services for women, men, boys and girls, in line with humanitarian principles.

IOM conducts a needs assessment following a flash flood in Wardak

2021 has presented a deepened and increasingly complex crisis scenario in Afghanistan. 40 years of conflict have shaped Afghanistan as a country of displacement, migration and return. The intensifying armed conflict in 2021, culminating in the August 2021 takeover, has resulted in escalating humanitarian needs and a deterioration of the protection environment for civilians, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, subsequent economic downturn, and drought which was officially declared in June 2021. These factors are driving a large volume of internal displacement and cross-border movements between Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and other countries in the region. Internal displacement is driven by both conflict and natural disaster. The total number of IDPs is currently estimated at 5.5 million, including both protracted and newly displaced. Significant annual returns of undocumented Afghans also continue as part of a cyclical migration flow, with over 912,000 undocumented Afghan returnees from Iran and Pakistan between 1 January and 22 September 2021. These returns have been both voluntary and forced: at least 55% of returns from Iran in 2021 are estimated to be deportations.

Following the Taliban advance and takeover, IOM continues to deliver life-saving humanitarian and resilience support to people in urgent need, leveraging a long-established presence all over the country. In line with the coordinated Afghanistan Flash Appeal released on 5 September, an addendum to the Humanitarian Response Plan, which asks USD 606.2 million to reach 10.8 million people in need by the end of the year, IOM released a corresponding flash appeal for an additional USD 24 million to meet new and emerging needs on the ground. This revision of IOM Afghanistan’s 2021 Crisis Response Plan now includes these additional targets and requirements, as well as additional funds needed to support the public health system in coordination with the Health Cluster.

IOM Afghanistan is negotiating access with the de facto authorities, working closely with other crisis response stakeholders in line with the Joint Operating Principles and access engagement strategy that are shared by the humanitarian community. IOM is the leading agency providing humanitarian assistance to undocumented Afghan returnees and to internally displaced populations affected by disasters. In response to the current situation, IOM is also a major responder to people displaced internally by conflict.

IOM is active in the UN Country Team, the Humanitarian Country Team, and the Inter-Cluster Coordination Team. IOM co-chairs with UNHCR the Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items Cluster, which also covers Camp Coordination and Camp Management. IOM is a partner in the UN DRR Working Group; Protection Cluster and Sub-Clusters; Health Cluster and MHPSS Working Group; WASH Cluster; Cash and Voucher Working Group; Accountability to Affected Populations Working Group; and the Humanitarian Access Group. IOM scaled up into one of the largest COVID-19 response actors in partnership with WHO and the Ministry of Public Health: IOM co-chairs the Point of Entry Working Group with UNHCR and is a core member of the Risk Communication and Community Engagement Technical Working Group. IOM leads the inter-agency Legal Identity Working Group. IOM is active in regional and provincial level coordination forums.

IOM’s mission in Afghanistan was established in 1992 and has maintained an uninterrupted presence in the country. IOM Afghanistan is one of the largest IOM missions worldwide, with over 670 personnel. In addition to the Kabul country office, there are six sub-offices covering the regions (located in Badakhshan, Balkh, Herat, Kandahar, Nangarhar, and Gardez, each with a Head of Sub-Office in place) in addition to project offices (including those located in Nimroz, Takhar, Kunduz, Helmand, Ghazni, Faryab, Saripul, and Ghor). IOM is present at four major border crossing points with Iran and Pakistan, where IOM is managing reception and transit centres. IOM maintains sixteen warehouses across the country where emergency shelter and NFI supplies are prepositioned to enable rapid humanitarian response wherever crises hit and has agreements in place with partners to expand this prepositioning capacity when needed.

IOM is one of the agencies with the greatest reach across Afghanistan, and the only UN agency which implements directly. IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) regularly monitors the geographic distribution and evolving needs of IDPs and returnees, with a pre-existing network of participants in over 12,300 settlements nationwide. This allows for programmatic shifts when required, ensuring more programmatic integrity and responsiveness, enhanced ability to reach the beneficiaries with critical activities and supplies, and enables IOM to act as a source of information for UN, NGOs, donors and other crisis response stakeholders.

Objective
Saving lives and protecting people on the move

$71,760,000

Funding required

1,334,000

People Targeted

Entities Targeted

Internal migrant, Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community

Primary target groups

Description of People and Entities Targeted

Vulnerable undocumented returnees;
Vulnerable and underserved communities of return;
People displaced or affected by conflict and/or disasters.

Direct health support

IOM will sustain and strengthen the delivery of essential health care to serve both IDPs and vulnerable returnees, as well as vulnerable members of the surrounding communities. Currently, IOM has 3 Primary Health Care Centres and serves 71 outreach locations with mobile teams. Services include reproductive health care (pregnancy and delivery support, post-natal care and family planning) and mental health and psychosocial support (on-site counsellors). Ongoing COVID-19 response will include:

Risk communication and community engagement;
Screening at the borders;
Distributing PPEs;
COVID-19 Rapid Response Team;
Support to vaccination efforts; and
Support to health facilities in view of the pull-out of the World Bank, and to be determined in coordination with the Health Cluster.

Funding required

$10,500,000

Plan types

Shelter and settlements

In order to address the shelter, settlements and non-food items needs of the affected population, IOM will:

Continue to co-lead the Emergency Shelter and Non-Food Items (ES-NFI) Cluster, which also covers CCCM. In 2021, ES-NFI Cluster and CCCM coordination has been strengthened with an expanded coordination team based in the regions;
Preposition, rapidly assess needs and respond with ES-NFI wherever there is a need across all 34 provinces, primarily for natural disasters but also for conflict-induced internal displacement. IOM’s warehousing capacity will be maintained and strengthened where needed.
Provide a winterization response. Specific emphasis is needed on expanding site management (CCCM) coordination and operations capacity in the new displacement context, given the expansion of displacement sites and anticipated continuation of population movements.

Funding required

$18,700,000

Plan types

Protection

In order to address the protection needs of the affected population, IOM will:

Expand the current protection case management and protection monitoring programme to support IDPs as well as returnees.
Identify persons with specific needs (including women /children at risk, serious medical cases, persons with disabilities) through protection screeners at Herat and Nimroz border points, and provide post-arrival assistance including information, referrals, and family tracing and reunification.
Provide protection case management in 11 provinces for both undocumented returnees and IDPs households with persons with specific needs. Regular protection monitoring (surveys, interviews and community discussions) will be undertaken in coordination with the Afghanistan Protection Cluster to understand the protection environment.

Funding required

$6,000,000

Plan types

Basic needs, including food and multi-purpose cash assistance

IOM manages eight reception and transit centres at four major land border crossing points (Nangahar, Kandahar, Herat, Nimroz). These facilities provide strategic points for responding to people in need in communities and settlements that may form around border areas, where further movements of people are anticipated as the situation evolves, and for critical interventions such as disease surveillance at the borders and humanitarian border management. Through these facilities IOM will continue to:

Provide assistance for vulnerable undocumented returnees including meals, overnight accommodation for up to 72 hours, needed non-food items, multi-purpose cash grants averaging USD39 per person for transportation.

Funding required

$35,560,000

Plan types

Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene in emergencies

Access to water is extremely limited in many parts of Afghanistan due to the current drought that is heavily affecting over three million people in the country. With the expected additional caseload due to the displacement and potential conflict damage to water supplies, IOM will:

Focus on the procurement of WASH NFIs, as well technical equipment needed for WASH activities in displacement sites (e.g. hygiene awareness, community engagement, COVID-19 precautionary measures, latrines, hand washing stations, storage water tanks for trucking, emergency tap stands, handpump tools, water testing kits, water treatment chemicals and tools and slabs for emergency latrine construction, according to needs).

Funding required

$1,000,000

Plan types

Read less

Returnees from Iran arriving at the Islam Qala border point in Herat

Objective
Driving solutions to displacement

$29,000,000

Funding required

1,010,000

People Targeted

Entities Targeted

Internal migrant, Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community

Primary target groups

Description of People and Entities Targeted

Vulnerable undocumented returnees;
Vulnerable communities of return.

Durable solutions

In order to work towards durable solutions, IOM will:

Support vulnerable IDPs and returnees with assistance in sustaining themselves and their families through emergency asset building and income generation activities at their displacement sites and in return communities. IOM will contribute to economic self-sufficiency and community stabilization consistent with IOM's Progressive Resolution of Displacement Situations. Leveraging local partnerships, IOM will deliver community-based development that fosters economic, social and psychosocial reintegration, securing a higher standard of living for communities. Support to economic revitalization includes enterprise and skills development, in which value chains are created with community development projects that also improve access to basic services.

Funding required

$29,000,000

Plan types

Read less

Objective
Strengthen preparedness and reduce disaster risk

$11,300,000

Funding required

167,000

People Targeted

Entities Targeted

Internal migrant, Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community

Primary target groups

Description of People and Entities Targeted

Communities living in areas vulnerable to disasters
Authorities responsible for International Health Regulations (Points of Entry)

Disaster prevention

Aligning with the Sendai Framework, IOM will work towards preventing the worst impacts on vulnerable populations living in disaster-prone areas through the:

Construction of small-scale disaster risk management (DRM) infrastructure (such as gabion walls) and irrigation systems, and through Community-Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM). With women, men, boys and girls involved, communities will build and be equipped for Community Disaster Management Action Plans, community hazard maps and early warning systems.

Funding required

$8,000,000

Plan types

Points of entry

At Points of Entry (POEs) that the Organization has access to IOM will:

Sustain and strengthen support at the POEs, working with relevant authorities and the Ministry of Public Health.
Continue providing health support, including active tuberculosis (TB) case finding at major border crossing points and COVID-19 cross-border coordination, including disease surveillance, PPE procurement, risk communication and Rapid Response Teams to manage sample collections at POEs.
Work with WHO to implement International Health Regulations as possible and feasible.

Funding required

$3,300,000

Plan types

Read less

Objective
Contribute to an evidence-based and efficient crisis response system

$3,770,000

Funding required

At risk communities

People Targeted

200

Entities Targeted

Internal migrant, Internally displaced person, International migrant, Local population / community

Primary target groups

Description of People and Entities Targeted

Humanitarian and development partners, with a view to the delivery of better-targeted evidence-based mobility sensitive and sustainable humanitarian and stabilization programming for people in need across the country.

Displacement tracking - rename

IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) will provide accurate and timely data to IOM and the humanitarian and development community in Afghanistan. This will include:

Emergency event tracking for real-time information on population movements;
Flow monitoring at border crossing points;
Community-based needs assessments and baseline mobility assessments.

DTM tools quantify population sizes, locations, needs, and mobility patterns, as well as the profiles and intentions of migrant, mobile, cross-border and nomadic populations; provide evidence-based metrics on outflows and inflows; and identify at-risk, vulnerable migrants in need of protection services.

Funding required

$3,770,000

Plan types

Read less

Operational presence in