NFI and hygiene-kit procurement in Afghanistan: specification, quality assurance and delivery evidence

Start from a standard, then check it against the market

Few agencies write kit specifications from scratch. In Afghanistan the ES/NFI Cluster publishes standard NFI kit guidance (opens in a new tab) and a standard winterization package (opens in a new tab), and global suppliers publish the contents of their own kits, as UNICEF does for its WASH and dignity kit (opens in a new tab). These are sound starting points. They are not purchase specifications until each item has been checked against what can actually be bought, in the quantity needed, in time.

That check matters more for kits than for single items, because a kit is only as available as its scarcest component. A hygiene kit with nine items stocked locally and one imported to order has the lead time of the imported item. Market research before the specification is fixed — which items are held in Kabul, which are stocked in the regions, which must be brought in — tells the programme whether to adjust the composition, split the order or accept the later date. UNICEF's own guidance encourages local procurement options where crises recur, for the same reason.

Import routes strengthen the case. The Logistics Working Group's August 2026 minutes (opens in a new tab) record Torkham closed to trade since October 2025 and Spin Boldak closed to regular movement, with humanitarian cargo moving through longer western and northern corridors. Anything not available inside the country needs the longest lead time in the plan.

Write the specification so it can be inspected

A specification that cannot be checked at the warehouse door will not protect the programme. "Good quality soap" cannot be inspected; a bar weight, a type, a packaging standard and a minimum shelf life on delivery can. For each item, state what an inspector will measure or read — weight, dimensions, material, count per pack, labelling language, expiry date — and the tolerance that is acceptable.

Decide what is fixed and what can flex. If a brand is indicative, say so and describe the performance required instead. If a component may be substituted when stock runs short, name the acceptable substitutes in advance; a substitution agreed under deadline pressure receives less scrutiny than the original specification did.

For kits intended for women and girls, confirm the composition with the programme team and, where possible, with the people who will use them. Menstrual hygiene items in particular vary with the local and cultural context, as UNICEF notes when describing its own kit.

Check the supplier before comparing prices

Supplier due diligence belongs before the quotation comparison, not after award. At minimum: a current trade licence that matches the invoicing entity, evidence of comparable volumes delivered, references that can be called, and conflict-of-interest declarations. These are the checks Zhikal runs before any supplier is used on a client's work.

Then compare like with like. Quotations should be priced against the same specification, the same delivered destination and the same packing, with lead time and stock availability stated. A kit price ex-Kabul is not comparable with a price delivered to a district, and a quotation that is silent on stock is a promise rather than an offer. The procurement planning guide covers how to schedule these checks.

Inspect twice: before purchase and before acceptance

Inspection is where the specification pays for itself. Review samples against the specification before bulk purchase is approved, then inspect the delivered goods for specification, quantity, expiry date and condition, with photographs, before they are accepted. Record the result on an inspection report signed by the inspector: a pass without a record is not evidence.

Where kits are assembled locally, inspect the finished kit as well. Count and check a sample of assembled kits against the composition, confirm the labelling, and mark the cartons so a complete kit can be recognised at the distribution point. Zhikal runs kit assembly, packing and labelling as a controlled stage between inspection and dispatch, closing with a packing list, a loading sheet and a waybill.

Agree the delivery evidence before the kits move

The documents an audit will ask for are predictable, so agree them before mobilisation: who signs the goods received note at each warehouse, what the distribution list records, how recipients acknowledge receipt, and in which language. Evidence captured on the day is a two-minute task; evidence reconstructed months later is an audit finding.

• Procurement file

  Market survey, supplier list, quotations, comparison, recommendation and approval.

• Inspection report

  Specification checks, quantities, expiry dates and photographs, signed.

• Packing list, loading sheet and waybill

  What left the warehouse, on which vehicle, for which destination.

• Goods received note and distribution list

  Who received the kits, where and how many, with individual acknowledgements.

• Final report and reconciliation

  Quantities procured, delivered and distributed, with every difference explained.

Plan the distribution site as well as the delivery

Hygiene-kit distributions reach women directly, and the site has to allow for that. Zhikal recruits women staff to registration and verification roles where the client protocol or the community context calls for women-to-women engagement, and plans separate queuing and waiting areas and private verification space. The last-mile delivery guide covers handover planning, and the distribution service describes how these operations run.

Use a framework for repeat kit orders

Where a programme buys kits repeatedly, a framework agreement removes the longest step — the procurement cycle — from each order. Rates, specifications and controls are agreed once, and each requirement is issued as a task order. Zhikal's current UN Women retainer works this way across 28 listed NFI categories, with market research, pre-financed procurement, quality assurance, warehousing and transport handled under one framework. Procurement and sourcing sets out the full cycle.