Cash and Voucher Assistance for Protection: Taking stock of cash and voucher assistance to achieve protection outcomes in the protection sector in humanitarian settings

While “protection cash” or “cash for protection” and “the use of cash and voucher assistance to help achieve protection outcomes” are terms increasingly used by humanitarian practitioners, there is still a lack of common understanding around these concepts and an absence of a common policy and operational framework.

The paper Cash and Voucher Assistance for Protection: Taking stock of cash and voucher assistance to achieve protection outcomes in the protection sector1 in humanitarian settings aims to contribute to developing a common understanding of the use of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) for protection outcomes among humanitarian stakeholders—including implementing agencies2, donors, and host governments—sharing up-to-date evidence and practice. The paper also identifies gaps in evidence and practice that require critical attention and resources, and highlights opportunities for the effective use of CVA within the Protection sector to achieve protection outcomes.

This paper will be updated annually to reflect the current state of evidence and to elevate evidence gaps. The current paper addresses cash and voucher assistance for child protection and gender-based violence (GBV) outcomes; future versions will reflect evidence on CVA for housing, land, and property (HLP) and mine action outcomes.

The paper is available in English, Spanish, Arabic and French.

The executive summary is also available in English, Spanish, Arabic and French.