Due to the absence of a comprehensive social protection system in the country, and compounded by reduced access to livelihoods resulting from COVID-19, people of concern resorted to negative coping mechanisms and faced protection risks such as self-restricting from accessing essential services and engaging in child labour or child marriage. Some 6,900 vulnerable persons at heightened risk could not be provided with cash or in-kind assistance or referral due to lack of funding.
Most refugee returnees are 2nd and 3rd generation Afghans born in Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite ongoing efforts by the operation to provide necessary reintegration support in the Priority Areas of Return and Reintegration (PARRs), lack of livelihood opportunities and access to basic services – particularly land, shelter, education and health services – remains a key challenge leading to secondary movement and reliance on negative coping mechanisms. Reception conditions for return have not been improved due to lack of funding for construction of 14 schools, 12 health centres and 20 infrastructure projects. Some 120,000 vulnerable persons did not obtain improved access to health services and 168,000 children have not received improved access to education. Some 100,000 returnees, IDPs and host community members continued enduring daily hardship in access to transport, water and power supply. Livelihood support could not be provided to some 2,800 vulnerable persons exposing them to prolonged protection risks and use of negative coping mechanisms.
Access to satisfactory conditions of sanitation and hygiene remains a challenge for many households. Reportedly, the majority of the population living in rural areas still lacks access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene services. Capacity was limited for protection assessments at border crossing points of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and protection needs of some 155,417 persons were not assessed. UNHCR prioritized installation of handwashing stations in public facilities and border crossing points, while preventive action in communities through installation of 44 handwashing stations and awareness raising sessions could not be implemented, leaving some 740,000 vulnerable persons unassisted.