04 September 2019

I was recently deployed to northern Greece for 7 weeks where I joined the IFRC team implementing a multi-purpose cash assistance programme covering basic needs.

17 July 2019

In light of different questions we have received about cash terminology, we would like to announce that the new CaLP glossary will be our point of reference going forward. We will seek to align to CaLP’s recommendation on the use of ‘Cash and Voucher Assistance’ (CVA), which can be used as an umbrella term. However since the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is often involved in Cash Assistance (CA), we will be using this term alongside CVA, to be more precise when referring to our activities.

03 July 2019

What happens when you put a bunch of innovative and collaborative meteorologists, humanitarians and government representatives together for 2 days in the Caribbean sun? Well, a lot of merengue it turns out, but most importantly some brilliant opportunities to advance the growing field of Forecast-based Financing (FbF) and anticipatory humanitarian action.

30 May 2019

The Cash Community membership pack is now available outlining different ways to get involved in supporting members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to deliver humanitarian cash assistance.

01 May 2019

Much has been said about cash aid (I use this as a far from perfect shorthand for delivering cash and voucher assistance). Is it really a game changer for the humanitarian system or just hype? Will humanitarian aid in 2030 be marked by a shift away from delivery of relief in-kind to digital transfers of money? Will financial service providers become some of our main operational partners in the future?

25 February 2019

[...] The promises of digital and biometric identification systems also provide opportunity to transform the work of aid agencies working with refugee and migrant communities. With the right systems in place, aid distribution can be streamlined, and made more transparent and effective. But such a profound transformation requires the co-operation of many actors, the right digital architecture, and investment in vast databases. There are several hurdles standing in the way of this utopian future, but that shouldn’t stop its development.