Research Terms of Reference: Afghanistan Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Dry Spell Assessment

May 7, 2018
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Afghanistan is highly dependent on livestock and agriculture. Moreover, a large proportion of the population has faced multiple displacements, with conflict and returnee influxes expected to carry on throughout 2018. The winter wet season is a critical period throughout the year for harnessing successful food production and agricultural inputs for the entire year, as well as for replenishing community water sources. However, compared to national multi-year averages and based on actualized rainfall, the winter wet season for 2017/2018 has been uncharacteristically dry due to La Nina conditions. This dryness indicates an impending humanitarian crisis with those dependent on limited water resources as well as communities reliant on agriculture and livestock are also likely to face significant WASH concerns in the upcoming months, facing critical conditions in July to September 2018.

Accordingly, contingency planning by the WASH Cluster is essential and ongoing. As part of the contingency planning, the REACH Initiative prepared an assessment to inform the Cluster and its partners on the way in which vulnerable communities and households can be identified. This is critical in facilitating an efficient and effective response. It is for this reason that REACH and the WASH Cluster are collaborating to conduct this assessment, that compares the ways in which vulnerable households can be identified and recognize the different coping mechanisms in place between households in informal settlements, where access to WASH resources are limited, and at CDC level in both urban and rural areas, where WASH-based vulnerabilities differ depending on reliance on agriculture and livestock. Together this supports contingency planning and prioritization of the WASH Cluster, provides advocacy tools to support funding for the crisis and encourages effective beneficiary selection by WASH partners in the field.

For more information on the "Research Terms of Reference: Afghanistan Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Dry Spell Assessment - REACH Support to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster Information Management, Afghanistan", please visit: https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/research-terms-reference-afghanistan-water-sanitation-and-hygiene-dry-spell