30 April 2024, Kabul – Herat Province, western Afghanistan, was severely devastated by powerful earthquakes in October 2023, leaving a trail of destruction across nine districts and directly impacting 275,256 individuals (OCHA). The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) marked a milestone in the recovery efforts with the successful completion of pilot activities aimed at rebuilding and retrofitting community infrastructure in one of the earthquake-affected areas.
Adopting the “Building Back Better” (BBB) approach, the joint initiative by UN-Habitat and JICA aimed not only to restore but to enhance community infrastructure, ensuring greater resilience to future disasters.
This initiative undertook a comprehensive survey and assessment in the affected villages of Zindajan District, Herat Province, to evaluate the extent of the damage infrastructure and widespread deficiencies in access to basic services with a special focus on health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and chart a path towards resilient reconstruction.
Among the surveyed villages, Kernail Wardak Village was selected as a pilot site for demonstrating the BBB approach in action. This village is home to 27 households comprising 80 families with a total population of 617 individuals. Among them are highly vulnerable individuals, including female-headed households, people with disabilities, orphans, widows, and elderly people.
The residents of the village have lost their homes and are currently living in tents as temporary shelters. The Kernail Health Center was severely damaged by the earthquakes. They lost their water supply system and have relied on water tankers and portable drinking water for daily consumption. Access to toilet facilities is another issue for the village, while public temporary latrine toilets have been provided as emergency support by humanitarian aid agencies.
“We lost everything in just one day due to the earthquakes. That was sudden. We were all devastated,” said Ghulam Saeed, Head of the Kernail Wardak Community Development Council (CDC).
Addressing critical gaps in community infrastructure, the BBB activities by UN-Habitat and JICA focused on rehabilitating and retrofitting the Kernail Health Center, upgrading the water supply network, and constructing a new paved community road with essential drainage systems.
In the action planning processes, 33 CDC members (14 males and 19 females) participated in discussions for decision-making. These efforts, now complete, stand as symbols of resilience and community empowerment in the inclusive recovery process.
“The path to recovery is long, and much work remains to be done, but today we are grateful to be able to see an important milestone of recovery,” stated Saeed representing the community. The rebuilt structures have been handed over to Kernail Wardak CDC and the health clinic, and they will ensure sustainable management and proper maintenance in the future.
“The support from UN-Habitat and JICA is not just about rebuilding infrastructure; it’s about rebuilding our lives and ensuring that our communities are better equipped to withstand future disasters,” Saeed continued.
“UN-Habitat and JICA are the first organizations who had taken an action for the recovery efforts. At the rebuilt health center, we can resume providing basic services to people in need of healthcare, particularly women and children. We are thankful for this support,” said Mujtaba Mahmoudi, Director of Kernail Health Center.
This clinic provides health services to 21 villages in the district with a total population of 14,674. Implementing the resilience strategies, including plastering with higher cement mortar ratios, provision of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) windows and doors, and the reconstruction of the boundary wall using proper brick masonry bonding and cement mortar, the clinic is now equipped to withstand the challenges posed by natural disasters.
Ensuring integrated and holistic interventions over community infrastructure across sectors such as health, WASH, and roads is crucial to addressing the interconnected challenges faced by the disaster-affected communities.
“We often face issues with the dusty road in our village due to strong winds. In addition, during rainfall events, stormwater mixed with wastewater, leading to unhygienic deposits along the road. This makes walking difficult, especially for women and children,” said Ramina, a Kernail’s resident.
In this village, there were no paved roads with proper drainage systems, and this had caused a significant impact on the provision of basic services, particularly related to health and WASH services. Ensuring accessibility to and connectivity of important lifelines and key spots is indispensable for life-sustaining activities regardless of the types of disasters and emergency situations.
According to the report of Herat Earthquakes 2023 Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), USD 402.9 million is urgently needed to support the critical recovery and reconstruction efforts in Herat Province. It emphasizes the critical need to transition from immediate humanitarian aid to long-term recovery. Recovery strategies should prioritize building community resilience, service restoration, earthquake-safe housing, livelihoods options, social protection, and access to basic services, especially for the most affected families. The report supports principles of building back better (BBB), underscoring women’s empowerment and reducing disaster risks and enhancing climate resilience.
Afghanistan’s nationwide vulnerability to natural disasters is heightened by complex topography, climate variations, and socio-economic challenges. It is important to recognize the urgent need for disaster risk reduction strategies and immediate actions for scaling up in other disaster-prone areas. Expanding the scope of interventions from earthquakes to climate change impacts, including flood, drought, landslide, avalanche, heavy and snowfall, is highly desired in future interventions.
