Provision of Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) Services for AICS Humanitarian Programme in Afghanistan

The assignment provides Third-Party Monitoring (TPM) services for the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) humanitarian programme AID 013365/01/0, “Multisectoral emergency intervention in response to the protracted humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan”.

The programme aims to contribute to the response to the protracted humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan by improving access to life-saving services and strengthening the resilience of populations affected by the crisis. It targets vulnerable populations, including internally displaced persons, returnees, women, children and persons with disabilities.

The initiative includes interventions in health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), protection, agriculture and food security, livelihoods and disaster risk reduction. Activities include:

• Emergency WASH services, including water supply, rehabilitation of water infrastructure, sanitation facilities and hygiene assistance
• Emergency food assistance for severely food-insecure households
• Essential primary health, reproductive health, nutrition, vaccination, mental health and psychosocial support services
• Trauma and emergency surgical services
• Prevention, mitigation and response to gender-based violence and violations of children's rights
• Strengthening gender-sensitive approaches and prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment
• Livelihood support, technical training and agricultural and livestock assistance
• Preparedness for epidemic, nutritional and climate-related shocks
• Community-based disaster risk reduction and hydrogeological risk mitigation measures

The programme is implemented by the AICS Islamabad Office with the participation of Civil Society Organisations. The projects currently covered by the initiative are implemented by EMERGENCY, INTERSOS, CESVI and ActionAid Afghanistan in partnership with ActionAid International Italia and INTERSOS.

The interventions cover locations in Helmand, Kabul, Herat and Nangarhar provinces. The overall initiative targets more than 150,000 direct beneficiaries, with possible overlaps between services, as well as wider communities in the intervention areas.

The TPM service provides AICS with independent evidence on implementation and results where direct access to intervention areas by AICS staff may be constrained. It includes baseline and endline studies and four four-monthly monitoring reports covering the progress of individual projects.