CASH BASED INTERVENTIONS: CAPACITY AND COORDINATION

ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

CASH BASED INTERVENTIONS IN UNHCR

CBI HAVE BEEN USED IN UNHCR SINCE MANY YEARS… CURRENTLY, UNHCR:

• PROVIDES CASH ALLOWANCE TO URBAN REFUGEES, CASH GRANTS FOR INCOME GENERATION, RENT, FUNERAL AND OTHER PURPOSES.

• AIMS TO DO MORE JOINT WFP-UNHCR FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMMING THROUGH CASH, VOUCHERS OR COMBINED IN-KIND AND CBI.

• PROVIDES LIST OF REGISTERED REFUGEES WHICH IS USED IN BENEFICIARY SELECTION AND VERIFICATION.

• IS PART OF COMPLAINT MECHANISM AND PARTICIPATES IN JOINT POST-DISTRIBUTION MONITORING (WITH WFP).

CASH BASED INTERVENTIONS IN UNHCR

• CBI FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE MORE VISIBLE COMPARED TO CBI FOR MORE SPECIFIC PURPOSES OR SMALLER TARGETED GROUPS

CBI STAFFING AND RESOURCES IN UNHCR

• NO DEDICATED CBI STAFF, BUT CBI FOCAL POINTS WERE APPOINTED AT COUNTRY LEVELS.

• CBI TASK FORCE (REPRESENTATIVES FROM PROTECTION, WASH AND NUTRITION TEAMS) AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL.

• DEDICATED CBI UNIT AT HEADQUARTER LEVEL, DEVELOPED UNHCR GLOBAL OPERATIONAL GUIDANCE FOR THE USE OF CBI IN DISPLACEMENT SETTINGS.

CBI STAFFING CHALLENGES

• TECHNICAL EXPERTISE WITHIN UNHCR IS LIMITED (E.G. MARKET ASSESSMENTS, ETC.).

• SECONDMENTS AND CONSULTANCIES ARE NOT A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION.

• TOR OF CBI FOCAL POINTS AT THE COUNTRY AND FIELD OFFICE LEVELS ARE UNCLEAR.

• SOME STAFF VIEW CBI AS A PROJECT ITSELF RATHER THAN AS A MODALITY FOR ASSISTANCE.

CHALLENGES FOR PROTECTION

• NO SYSTEMATIC DOCUMENTATION OF PROGRESS AND OUTCOMES WITHIN THE ORGANISATION.

• DATA SHARING ON SPECIFIC PROTECTION CASES TO INFORM OR UPDATE BENEFICIARY SELECTION.

• IDENTIFICATION OF BENEFICIARIES WITH SPECIFIC VULNERABILITIES/NEEDS AND ENSURE FOLLOW UP.

• JOINT ANALYSIS BY PROGRAMME AND PROTECTION TEAMS IS NOT A STANDARD ACTIVITY.

• PROTECTION ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING REPORTS DO NOT SYSTEMATICALLY INFORM CBI PROGRAM DESIGN.

• COMPREHENSIVE RISK ANALYSIS AND CBI BASELINE PROTECTION ASSESSMENTS ARE NOT YET STANDARD.

ONGOING MEASURES 

• THE REGION IMPLEMENTS PART OF THE ECHO-FUNDED MULTI-AGENCY COLLABORATION SPECIFICALLY THE CAPACITY BUILDING COMPONENT

• UNHCR REGIONAL CASH AND PROTECTION WORKSHOP AND THIS INTER-AGENCY WORKSHOP

• ADVOCACY AT REGIONAL LEVEL WITH UNHCR COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVES.

• JOINT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF OPERATIONAL PLAN WITH WFP BASED ON BEST PRACTICES.

• JOINT UNHCR AND WFP CBI BASELINE PROTECTION ASSESSMENTS.

• JOINT UNHCR AND WFP PROGRAM REVIEWS.

• RECRUITMENT OF UNHCR CASH EXPERT FOR THE REGION.

RECOMMENDATIONS• APPOINT MULTIFUNCTIONAL TEAMS AT COUNTRY LEVEL.

• DEVELOP CLEAR TOR TO DEFINE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROGRAMME AND PROTECTION STAFF, INCLUDING CBI FOCAL POINTS.

• DEVELOP STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH NGO PARTNERS AND OTHER GROUPS ENGAGED IN CBI.

• TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PRACTICAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES SUCH AS JOINING WFP IN MARKET SURVEYS, PDM, CBI PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.

• ENSURE PARTICIPATION OF THE POC IN ALL STAGES OF THE CBI PROJECT CYCLE.