CASH IN EMERGENCIES TOOLKIT

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. By joining this community you can contribute to all aspects of cash programming, such as preparedness, emergency response or long-term recovery and development. All staff, volunteers, leaders, members, and partners of the Movement interested in humanitarian cash assistance can participate in this wide range of activities and knowledge exchanges around cash and its use as a programming tool. Sharing experiences, technical advice or simply participating in online discussions and policy debates are also ways to be an active member of this cash community, which enriches both personnel of the Movement and global networks around cash.

To find out how to get involved, download the Cash Community membership pack.

More information about the approach of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the field of humanitarian cash assistance are available under “Our Approach”.

Cash Community Pack

By David Peppiatt, Director of Humanitarian Cash Assistance, British Red Cross

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?  Whatever the answers to these questions, it is clear cash, particularly in the form of digital payments, will be a far more integral part of the aid system than was the case when we embarked on our last strategy in 2010.  Cash, it seems, will be the new normal.

Let’s start by acknowledging some of the transformative benefits of cash.  In the right context, evidence from cash programmes has shown this can be a more efficient and more direct model of aid delivery with less overheads and, therefore, helping ever-tightening aid budgets to go further.   Experience of recipients highlight how cash enables choice, dignity and ultimately a more empowering form of aid than a food parcel or relief handout.  It can help catalyse the recovery of livelihoods and, in most contexts, it is better for local markets than trucking in aid from outside.  Donors are convinced; it is no longer a question of “why cash?” as aid agencies are now asked, “if not cash, why not?”  The focus, therefore, is less on the “why” but rather on the “how” cash aid in the future can be delivered most effectively. […]

As we reflect on the potential role of cash as an enabler in our new strategy, here are a few key opportunities and risks to consider:

– Cash and the digital revolution […]

– The potential for new partnerships […]

– Linking humanitarian cash transfers to social protection and development […]

– Globalisation and localisation of cash transfers […]

– Dignity for people in crisis […]  

A collaboration between IFRC and emerge85, University of Michigan, and 510.global

Across the world, an increasing number of governments are embracing digital and biometric technology to transform how services are distributed and needs are assessed. Governments require the basic ability to track citizens, residents, and visitors, and digital identification systems have transformed how modern borders function. In emerging markets, the adoption rate has been particularly rapid. In India, a massive digital and biometric identification program called Aadhar is streamlining how services are disseminated, taxes collected, and votes cast in the world’s largest democracy. The promise of these digital systems is a combination of increased efficiency and reduced corruption through tighter control of resources.

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.

Author

Rick Twelves – emerge85 (Twitter: @e85lab)

Researchers

Edward Happ – University of Michigan (Twitter: @ehapp)

Amy Newman – University of Michigan

(LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-newman-05108b4/)

Lars Stevens – 510 Global Netherlands Red Cross

(Email: lstevens@rodekruis.nl)

Contributors

Nadine Haddad – IFRC MENA

Amanda Robinson – Australian Red Cross 

(Email: amrobinson@redcross.org.au)

 

Challenge: Lack of official identity

Due to lack of recognized proof of identity, roughly 1.5 billion individuals face challenges in accessing or enjoying basic rights and services. Imagine not being able to vote, proof employment or financial track records, setting up a bank account, registering a business, land ownership, receiving social protection payments, school enrolment, and even not receiving humanitarian assistance. A recognized ID is the gateway to dignity and equal participation in society.

We want to give control and ownership of personal data back to individuals, and out of multiple NGO systems, and at the same time increase collaboration between NGOs and their beneficiaries, with user consent as a key. Vulnerable populations and their contexts also introduce unique use cases and scenarios for technology, and we want to tackle the problem of Identities in a humanitarian context.

Help us find the solution

We would like to invite private companies, social enterprises, and other institutions to engage in a dialogue process and discuss the problems related to identities we see in the humanitarian space, and to understand concrete ways on how they could be solved using available technologies and know-how.

 

The project is managed by HIP – Humanitarian Innovation Platform – a collaborative platform that incubates humanitarian innovation. HIP was founded by Norwegian Red Cross, Save The Children, Norwegian Refugee Council & Norwegian Church Aid.

 

More info: Read the Executive Summary

 

Join us: Attend one of the Info Session by filling out the form for statement of interests

 

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A webinar took place on 4 December 2018 to help users of the Cash Hub platform navigate through cash resources, tools and training opportunities, and to offer practical guidance on the use of the cash forum and helpdesk for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement .

The recording of the webinar is now available, click here to watch it and learn more about the Cash Hub as well as using its platform and the collaborative workspace that hosts the cash community of the Movement.

The Cash Hub platform has been launched as a global resource for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, to increase its capacity to deliver cash-based assistance across a wide range of operations. It supports a cash community, open to cash practitioners as well all staff and volunteers in the Movement with an interest in cash.

Below you can find the list of speakers that participated in the webinar:

A recent ICRC report, ‘Cash Transfer Programming in Armed Conflict: The ICRC’s Experience‘, suggests that although cash is often best in conflict, it is not always the most appropriate solution. It also argues that delivery of cash assistance is a ‘tool of humanitarian action’, rather than a success in itself. Read the full article on the ICRC website.

After the earthquake, the generosity of the UK public toward the people of Nepal was inspiring. 

Donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) earthquake appeal reached £87 million. The DEC then shared the funds among organisations working in the country, including the British Red Cross.

This plus the equally generous donations to the Red Cross’ own appeal supported us to give over 8,000 people cash grants of around £140. Families used the money to buy seeds, tools and other things they needed to start farming again. Read the full blog on the British Red Cross website and discover more about the impact of cash grants on the livelihoods of people affected by the earthquake in Nepal.

Giving cash can, paradoxically, do good while saving charities money.

Link to the article: https://www.thirdsector.co.uk/kirsty-marrins-digital-revolutionising-humanitarian-aid/digital/article/1494082

HomepageConference

On 13th September 2018, the British Red Cross convened a Cash Conference on behalf of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, guided by the theme ‘Towards Transformation’.

This report summarises the key themes that emerged on the day, with a view to further the global debate on the scale-up of humanitarian cash transfers:

Download the executive summary here.

Download the full report here.

Video recordings of the different panels are available on YouTube:

Watch the opening remarks.

Watch the keynote speakers.

Watch the session on localising the cash agenda.

Watch the session on connecting humanitarian cash and social protection.

Watch the session on innovation in cash transfer programming.

Watch the session on cash in conflict.

Watch the closing remarks.

To gain a practical overview of how the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement uses cash in emergencies watch this video with examples from Kenya (Isiolo) and British Virgin Islands.

 

RedCrossCash article resizedAhmad buys groceries with money he received from the Red Cross cash assistance programme in Amman, Jordan.

© Andrew McConnell / the British Red Cross

This week, on Thursday 13 September, the British Red Cross is convening a Cash Conference on behalf of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRCM). This is an exciting time for the humanitarian sector and its partners as we consider the future role of cash in humanitarian aid.

Cash assistance is a well utilised tool in the humanitarian world already, but is it going far enough? What more can we be doing to ensure that cash assistance is truly localised and improving the outcomes for people in crisis? Is our own global aid system preventing us from responding to crises in a more timely, efficient and effective way with more choice and dignity for affected populations? How does responding with cash in conflict differ to a natural disaster response?

These are all questions we’ll be discussing at the conference. The day will bring together senior representatives from across different sectors, including the humanitarian community, academia, the private sector and government, to engage in a conversation about the potential role of cash in transforming humanitarian aid.

I am delighted to count among the speakers and panel discussants representatives from the RCRCM, WFP, DFID, CaLP, IRC, Oxfam, ODI, Mastercard, GiveDirectly, InterNews, GSMA and others.

An estimated $2.8billion of international humanitarian assistance was allocated to cash transfer programmes in 2016; while this is a positive increase from 2015, this is still less than 10 per cent of total humanitarian aid. If we are serious about transforming aid, this must change.

The RCRCM has a long history of delivering cash-based interventions, and now runs some of the most ambitious cash programmes in the world, including in Kenya, Pakistan, Turkey, the Philippines and the United States. We want to harness this knowledge and experience and join efforts with our global partners to improve the impact of humanitarian assistance. The British Red Cross’ first ever impact report, The Difference We Made in 2017, to be published this week, highlights numerous examples where cash has been used to support crisis-affected communities across the globe.

One step we’ve taken towards strengthening the use of cash is through creating an online Cash Hub, in partnership with IFRC and ICRC, which we will be officially launching at the Cash Conference on Thursday. This global resource will be available to help strengthen the global work in humanitarian cash assistance. The Cash Hub offers quick and easy access to key resources, programme guidance and tools for cash practitioners. It also hosts the ‘Cash School’ to train practitioners, a Helpdesk as well as a Forum to assist operations with technical advice, relevant information and signposting to online resources.

I invite you to share the Cash Hub resource through your own channels, and to join us on Thursday by using the Twitter hashtag #RedCrossCash and logging into our live stream of the day.

David Peppiatt

Director, Humanitarian Cash Assistance at British Red Cross

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