Middle East and North Africa
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Feasibility of Achieving Resilience by Linking Vulnerable Populations Receiving Humanitarian CVA to Development and Social Protection
Report
This report evaluates the capacities for establishing linkages between humanitarian CVA and state-led social protection in Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
Rapid Reflection on the Scale up of Cash Coordination- Türkiye/ Syria Earthquakes
Report
This rapid reflection piece looks at how cash coordination structures scaled up at the onset of the Türkiye/ Syria Earthquakes in February 2023. The short reports look at implications and good practices implemented by cash working groups in Türkiye, North West Syria, and Government-controlled areas of Syria; where they can also be relevant learning for other crises.
Locally-Led Responses to Cash and Voucher Assistance in the Middle East and North Africa: Barriers, progress and opportunities
Case Study
This research highlights moments of tension between the reported commitment of the humanitarian sector towards localization and the actual steps implemented to advance locally-led CVA. Subsequently, recommendations emphasize the responsibilities of the sector in order to expand locally-led approaches in an inclusive and practical way.
Investigating Operational Models for Multi-purpose Cash Delivery and Links to Social Protection: Spotlight on the Middle East and North Africa
Report
This piece of research looked at six case studies in the MENA region where CVA is being delivered at scale. It looked at the characteristics of the operational models of delivering multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA), and how that enables (or not) links with existing national social protection systems. The research found that there’s no one model that enables links between humanitarian MPCA...
Cash Working Group De-activation in Iraq
Case Study
The humanitarian context in Iraq has evolved significantly in the past years, advancing towards recovery and sustainability for the conflict-affected population. During 2022, the humanitarian coordination structure worked on a process to phase out, in line with the transitional context. Clusters and the Cash Working Group (CWG) designed exit strategies that concluded with their de-activation...
Multi-purpose cash assistance for Lebanese – Inter-agency Joint Learning Event Learning Brief
Case Study
On June 27th 2023, Mercy Corps co-organized with Acted, Concern and Oxfam a learning event on the implementation of Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) interventions for Lebanese. While the MPCA modality has been initiated and designed around the assistance to refugees, the provision of unconditional cash assistance for Lebanese is a recent development in the country. This requires an...
Cash for Rent Guidelines for Yemen
Guidelines and Tools
Since the start of a civil conflict in Yemen in March 2015, the country has remained in a state of emergency. Ongoing fighting and military activities have made it challenging for humanitarian workers to reach affected populations and meet their basic needs, such as food, water, and shelter. Displaced persons often live with relatives, friends, or in collective shelters that offer inadequate...
An Integrated Approach to Menstrual Hygiene Management: Awareness sessions and cash assistance for women and girls affected by crisis in Lebanon
Case Study
In 2022, UNFPA Lebanon worked with local partners to launch an integrated cash and awareness for menstrual hygiene management (MHM) initiative as a way to tackle the growing issue of period poverty amidst the country’s economic crisis. Through the pilot, over 2,600 vulnerable women and girls of reproductive age received cash assistance intended to cover the purchase of monthly menstrual...
UNFPA’s approach to CVA in the Arab region and Türkiye
Policy paper
UNFPA experience in different humanitarian contexts has shown that cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is a powerful instrument that can save lives, alleviate risks, and help women and girls escape abusive environments. By giving women and girls greater access to vital services and empowering them with the freedom to choose, UNFPA has found that CVA can directly contribute to the realisation of...
Conflict sensitive cash assistance in Lebanon: Conflict sensitivity toolbox 1
Guidelines and Tools
The Conflict Sensitivity Toolbox series is produced under UNDP Lebanon’s Tension Monitoring System. The toolbox forms part of the conflict sensitivity mainstreaming work under the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) and has been produced in collaboration with House of Peace. In 2021, three Lebanon-specific guidance notes were developed to provide partners with practical tips for getting...
Survival minimum expenditure basket, minimum expenditure basket, gap analysis and transfer values for cash programming
Case Study
The CWG in Iraq has updated the SMEB and has designed a new MEB and gap analysis to inform the transfer values for cash programming in 2023. This document is a technical note with the summary of the values and the methodology.
With the coordination and technical support of CashCap and the Data analysis of REACH-Initiative.
Integrating Cash Assistance into Gender-Based Violence Case Management to Support GBV Survivors and Individuals at Risk in Jordan
Case Study
With support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and CARE are leading an initiative on behalf of the Global Protection Cluster (GPC) Task Team on Cash for Protection (TTC4P) to expand access among field-level
practitioners to the requisite knowledge, skills, guidance, and tools to integrate cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and...
Integrating Cash Assistance into Gender-based Violence Case Management to Support GBV Survivors and Individuals at Risk in Jordan Snapshot
Case Study
Jordan is home to the second largest refugee population per capita in the world. The country’s population of 10,571,602 includes more than 760,000 refugees registered with the UN refugee agency. More than 80 percent live in urban areas rather than in refugee camps.
A recent assessment by CARE Jordan found that the lack of income opportunities, COVID-19, and community conflict were the most...
Integrating Cash Assistance into Gender-based Violence Case Management: Learnings from Colombia, Ecuador, and Northwest Syria
Case Study
In 2020-2022, WRC partnered with CARE in three locations, Ecuador, Colombia and Syria, to better understand the use of CVA in GBV case management. In Guayaquil, Ecuador, WRC and CARE worked with
three Ecuadorian organizations to strengthen the capacity of GBV service providers to use CVA within case management in response to intimate partner violence for migrant, refugee, and local...
Leaving No One Behind: Evidence from Lebanon on How Multi-purpose Cash Beneficiaries with Different Vulnerability Profiles Spend Income and Access Services
Case Study
This study aims to generate a more in-depth and nuanced understanding of the impact of MPC assistance on Syrian refugee households with different vulnerability profiles, and explores how complementary interventions can support severely vulnerable households to meet their basic needs and address issues beyond the reach of cash. Generating evidence on this topic will support WFP, donors, and...
Transitioning out of Humanitarian Cash Assistance in Iraq: Critical Actions to Ensure Gender-based Violence Risks are Mitigated and Prevented throughout the Transition
Case Study
In light of ongoing efforts to transition away from humanitarian Cash assistance in Iraq, a two-day workshop took place in Erbil on June 22 which gathered more than 32 gender-based violence (GBV) and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) actors with the goal of identifying priorities for the transition period related to GBV mainstreaming in humanitarian Cash and Social Protection assistance. This...
From Risk to Choice: Cash within GBV Case Management in Jordan
Case Study
In 2021, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Jordan piloted the integration of cash assistance within gender-based violence (GBV) programming. The pilot targeted GBV survivors and women at risk of GBV – including Jordanians, Syrian refugees and refugees of other nationalities – within the framework of GBV case management. Two modalities were used: one-off Emergency Cash...
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Independent evaluation of CAMEALEON
Report
CAMEALEON is an independent initiative to provide monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning support to the World Food Programme (WFP)’s multi-purpose cash (MPC) programme for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Established in 2017, CAMEALEON’s main purpose is to bridge evidence gaps, strengthen...
Transitioning out of Humanitarian Cash Assistance in Iraq: Critical Actions to Ensure Gender-based Violence Risks are Mitigated and Prevented throughout the Transition
Case Study
In light of ongoing efforts to transition away from humanitarian Cash assistance in Iraq, a two-day workshop took place in Erbil on June 22 which gathered more than 32 gender-based violence (GBV) and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) actors with the goal of identifying priorities for the transition period...
Executive Summary – Cross-country Learning Report on Applying the Common Approach ‘Resourcing Families for Better Nutrition’ in Humanitarian Responses
Report
From 2021 to 2022, Save the Children implemented ‘Cash + for Nutrition’ in programming in three countries at risk of famine: Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Yemen.
With funding from Save the Children Italy and technical support from Save the Children UK and the consulting firm InformEd International,...
Integrating Cash Assistance into Gender-Based Violence Case Management to Support Survivors in Ninewa, Iraq
Case Study
With support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and CARE are leading an initiative on behalf of the Global Protection Cluster Task Team on Cash for Protection (TTC4P) to expand access among field-level practitioners to the requisite knowledge,...
Linking Cash and Voucher Assistance with Social Protection: A case study in Gaza
Case Study
In the Gaza Strip, 80% of the population receives humanitarian assistance. The level of need is overwhelming, and the political and socio-economic context has crippled the traditional social protection system. Efforts to build a stronger social protection system are under way, and cash interventions are...
Learnings from Cash Grant Support to Small and Medium Food Shops in Northwest Syria
Report
The majority of vendors working within GOAL’s areas of operation survive on slim margins and are highly susceptible to market and currency instability, often resulting in an inability to restock on time due to a lack of financial capital. Vendors are often confronted with other issues such as the lack...
UNHCR Reflections on the Ukraine Effect for the MENA Regional Task Force
Presentation
A presentation shared by UNHCR colleagues on their reflections on managing CVA in contexts of high inflation.
Assessing Shelter and WASH conditions of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon in Relation to Cash Assistance and Services
Case Study
This second study has the two-fold objectives of producing a granular map of WASH and shelter conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, as well as investigating the factors that are associated with improved WASH and shelter outcomes for refugees. More concretely, the research aims to examine the...
A Gendered Analysis on Cash for Work Programming in Lahj Governorate
Case Study
Cash for Work (CFW) programmes are designed to help the most vulnerable people meet their essential and basic needs. In Yemen, CFW interventions are responding to an ever-growing proportion of the Yemeni population that are in need of humanitarian assistance. Working with communities in the targeted areas...
MPCA Referral Mechanism to Sectoral Services in Iraq
Guidelines and Tools
This is a harmonised and inter-agency mechanism that allows referring MPCA beneficiaries to 5 critical sectors and its activities: Agriculture, Livelihoods, Health, Protection and Shelter. The aim is to provide more holistic support and enhance the impact of MPCA to vulnerable population.
A Global Mapping of GOAL’s Cash, Vouchers and Social Protection Interventions Linked with Health
Report
This mapping identified ways GOAL are providing financial assistance (including CVA and social protection assistance) to support access to health related goods/services and improve people’s health/nutrition status. It reviewed GOAL projects in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the...
Social Protection: An operational tool for the humanitarian, development and peace nexus – Linkages between cash-based interventions and social protection in humanitarian and non-humanitarian settings
Policy paper
This paper explores linkages between Cash-Based Interventions (CBIs) and social protection in humanitarian and nonhumanitarian settings, focusing on linkages between humanitarian aid and sustainable social protection for migrants, including communities affected by forced displacement such as IDPs and...
Leaving No One Behind: Evidence from Lebanon on How Multi-purpose Cash Beneficiaries with Different Vulnerability Profiles Spend Income and Access Services
Case Study
This study aims to generate a more in-depth and nuanced understanding of the impact of MPC assistance on Syrian refugee households with different vulnerability profiles, and explores how complementary interventions can support severely vulnerable households to meet their basic needs and address issues...
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance Referral Mechanism to Sector Specific Services
Guidelines and Tools
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) has been a major activity in Iraq since 2015, used mainly for responses for conflict affected populations. Results from Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) show high levels of satisfaction, supporting access to basic needs and expenditures on critical needs. However, a...
Executive Summary of the Resourcing Families for Better Nutrition (RF4BN) Endline in Yemen
Case Study
From September 2021 to April 2022, Save the Children Yemen implemented the RF4BN project to support pregnant and lactating women (PLWs), children under 2 (CU2), and other vulnerable households. The project aimed to improve their access to food, water, hygiene, health, and nutrition services through the...
CVA for Health Services Guidance Note
Guidelines and Tools
Guidance on the use of CVA for Health Services in Iraq, developed in collaboration with the CWG, the Health Cluster, the Protection Cluster and with the technical support of CashCap
Northwest Syria Cash and Voucher Assistance Risk and Mitigation Matrix
Guidelines and Tools
This risk matrix is a working document which outlines the key risks that can have an impact on Cash and Voucher Assistance programming in Northwest Syria and identifies mitigation measures that can help aid agencies address these risks. These CVA risks and mitigation measures were identified through an...
Expanding the Evidence Base on Cash, Protection, GBV and Health in Humanitarian Settings Findings from Northwest Syria: A Comparison of Individual Protection Assistance and Dignity Kits
Case Study
As part of 2021 programming in northwest Syria, UNFPA and its implementing partners provided dignity kits (hygiene and sanitary products) and individual protection assistance (IPA, a one-off unconditional cash transfer) to those in need. The two interventions were intended to provide immediate assistance...
Linking Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance to Long-Term Solutions: Key Findings and Recommendations from the Iraq CWG Workshop November 2021
Report
Large-scale Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) has been provided in Iraq since 2015 to assist people who are affected by conflict to meet their basic needs. Humanitarian actors view MPCA as the most appropriate response modality in Iraq and a major component of the Humanitarian Response Plan...
Economic Resilience “On-the-Move” – New Tools to leverage local markets for basic needs through conflict-sensitive approaches
Guidelines and Tools
See the publication here A special look at Cash and Local Markets for Social Cohesion Local market actors affected by (natural) disasters, pandemic lockdowns with movement restrictions and income loss – generally in Fragile Contexts – play a critical role in contributing towards communities’ basic...