Gorkha Cash Coordination Group Meeting Minutes

2 July 2015

Participants: Care Nepal, Christian Aid, CRS, DDRC, Eco Nepal, Save the Children, SDSC, Shelter Cluster Area Coordinator, SSICDC, UNOCHA, WFP

DDRC brief on the multi-purpose cash grant

 DDRC provided an update on the multi-purpose cash grant and clarified the targeting criteria:

o Layer 1: Agencies are to prioritise multi-purpose cash grants of 7,500 NRs to all damaged and destroyed households in the eight hard-to-reach northern VDCs (, Chekampar, , Kerauja, , Prok, , , Uhiya). This amounts to nearly 2,000 households. o Layer 2: Targeting in the remaining districts should be done based on the Government’s social protection program commitments. The selection of the VDCs will take into consideration pre- existing relationships between I/NGOs and the local authorities and communities. o Layer 3: Agencies operating in a VDC can decide to prioritise people who are not on the social welfare lists but who have become vulnerable as a result of the earthquake (loss of livelihood, disability, etc). Based on criteria provided by the NGO, the DDC and the VDC Secretary should finalise the lists and provide it to the respective NGO. A written agreement between the cash provider and the VDC Secretary must be obtained prior to implementing any cash program. This agreement should be submitted to the DDRC. o Layer 4: cash-for vendors and cash-for-work will also be considered to support recovery of livelihoods.

 Clarification on the Government’s Social Welfare lists: o Elderly refers to people who are above 70 years old o Children are not counted for MPG as UNICEF has pre-existing cash programs to suit some of their needs. o Fully disabled refers to people unable to work and earn a substantial and gainful income or engage in age-appropriate activities relative to same-age peers. o Partially disabled refers to people who can perform work, albeit with some limitations.

 In addition to the Government’s Social Welfare List, the DDRC is compiling a second list which includes people affected by the earthquake whose vulnerability increased as a result of the impacts of the earthquake. Currently the list includes some 500 families who have lost one ore multiple family members and people who have been injured as a result of the earthquake.

 The DDRC clarified that any financial support provided towards market rehabilitation in the form of cash- for-vendors should be negotiated by the I/NGO with the Chamber of Commerce directly. Once approved, the Chamber of Commerce will request authorization from DDRC on behalf of the INGOs.

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Agreements

 Social Welfare List and the List of Earthquake-affected people: DDRC and cash partners agreed to target cash intervention according to the two lists provided by local authorities - social welfare list and earthquake list.  Social welfare plus: In addition to providing cash assistance to earthquake affected households as per the Government’s Social Welfare Scheme, humanitarian agencies can provide cash assistance to people rendered vulnerable by the earthquake and not on the social welfare lists within the VDCs they are already working. This has to happen in collaboration and close coordination with the VDC Secretaries. Additional lists must be developed with the VDC Secretaries and the agreement shared with DDRC.  Targeting: OCHA Cash Coordination Group will develop a one pager regarding the targeting of MPG assistance and share it with cash partners in Gorkha for feedback. This will provide only general guidance to the work of cash partners regarding the distribution of the grants to most vulnerable people. The document will have to be adjusted for the specific context of Gorkha.  VDC Coverage: Qualifying beneficiaries will first be provided with a 1-month MPG of $75/household. This requires agencies to consider increasing coverage to include VDCs where they do not have pre- existing relationships. Agencies to consult their headquarters/team-leaders and revert with their decisions regarding the possibility for a geographical expansion. Insofar as it is possible, CRS, as the agency with the biggest reach, will provide assistance to the VDCs that have not or cannot be covered by all other cash partners. As the large majority of the VDCs in Gorkha were affected by the earthquake, the risk of providing social welfare top-up to people in VDCs where no humanitarian need was identified before is minimal. Meeting participants agreed that cash-assistance provided to people on the social welfare lists across all VDCs was a sensible approach.  Coverage of Gaps: The DDRC confirmed that, unlike shelter, they have not budgeted for MPGs and are therefore not in a position to fill in any gaps in the VDCs covered by humanitarian partners. This means that I/NGOs will have to cover the full caseload.  Data collection: Emphasis was placed on collecting disaggregated data to reflect specific gender and age needs.

Action point:  OCHA to share the MPG matrix for agencies to update information related to geographical coverage and MPG capacity. Agencies to submit their inputs by close of business Monday 6 July 2015.  OCHA to liaise with DDRC to obtain the social protection welfare list at household level.  OCHA to develop a template agreement (‘Letter of Intent’) to be used by humanitarian partners when intervening with cash assistance at VDC level (DL: Monday 6 July 2015)  OCHA (Cash Coordination Group in Kathmandu) to develop a one pager regarding the targeting of MPG assistance and share with cash partners in Gorkha. Feedback from agencies operating in Gorkha is encouraged. (DL: Friday 3 July 2015)  OCHA and CRS to circulate the following documents: o Market monitoring survey o CRS Concept Note on market rehabilitation in o Gorkha Welfare Scheme Recipients Summary

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