Afghanistan continues to be one of the worst humanitarian situations in the world with approximately 28 million women, men, girls and boys requiring humanitarian aid. The quality of health care services is poor, and many do not have access at all. There is a chronic shortage of qualified health staff, medicine, and medical equipment. Moreover, 17.2 million women, men, girls and boys are facing a severe food crisis, with 3.6 million people at emergency levels of food insecurity. Soaring food prices, unemployment, especially among women, drought, irregular weather patterns and livestock fatalities have all contributed to this. Paktia province is particularly affected, and the province also faces severe weather conditions, particularly harsh winters, making it a top priority for the winterization response.

Outcomes:

• Improved access and quality of primary health and nutrition services in the vulnerable targeted communities in Paktia province
• Vulnerable households have improved food security through income generation opportunities
• Vulnerable women, men, girls and boys have adequate access to cash to address their winterization needs

Main Activities

• Provision of primary health care services with a focus on sexual and reproductive health services to women of childbearing age
• Provision of mental health and psycho-social support services to women and men with a focus on gender-based violence cases, and domestic violence
• Provision of basic trauma care service to the targeted population
• Treatment of communicable and non-communicable diseases including disease outbreak response
• Implementation of integrated management of newborn and childhood illnesses services
• Conducting immunization activities for women and children
• Identification of malnutrition cases through screening of children aged 6-59 months and pregnant and lactating women
• Treatment of the children with malnutrition at outpatient department for severely and moderately malnourished children program
• Conducting growth monitoring and promotion for children under 2 years of age
• Provision of supplementary food to pregnant and lactating women through the Targeted Supplementary Feeding Program
• Dissemination of maternal infant and young child nutrition key messages among childbearing mothers
• Provision of health services in outreach areas
• Health promotion and community awareness will be provided by community health workers and community health supervisors
• Identification of referral sites, coordination, and referral of complicated cases
• Community mobilization and engagement
• Identification of the most vulnerable food insecure households and communal infrastructures
• Cash for work for rehabilitation of small-scale communal infrastructures
• Conduct market assessment in the targeted province and districts
• Mobilization and selection of potential formal and informal businesses
• Allocation and training of mirco-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to develop business marketing plan
• Provision of cash grant to 30 mirco-, small- and medium-sized enterprises
• Identification and registration of beneficiaries
• Distribution of multi-purpose cash assistance