J U LY 2 0 2 0 THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CASH 2020 CASH AND VOUCHER ASSISTANCE IN HUMANITARIAN AID 1 CALP – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CASH 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The State of the World’s Cash 2020 was commissioned and developed by CaLP. The report is a collaborative piece of work, CaLP is a dynamic global led by a core research and writing team with the invaluable network of over 90 organisations inputs and support from a huge number of people. engaged in the critical areas of policy, practice and research in We would like to thank the many people and organisations that humanitarian cash and voucher generously contributed their ideas and time to the research assistance (CVA) and financial process, including those who provided key informant interviews, assistance more broadly. responded to surveys, and facilitated or participated in the various For more information, please consultations processes around the world. We have used all the visit the CaLP website at information provided, treating views respectfully and carefully www.calpnetwork.com triangulating information to generate the analysis in this report. Follow CaLP on Twitter: We are particularly grateful to the Strategic and Technical @calpnetwork Advisory Committee for their critical support in guiding the development of the report and reviewing drafts. The members are: Lama-Crys Al Chamaa (Oxfam/ex Lebanese Red Cross), Jo Burton (ICRC), Wendy Fenton (ODI), Maha Khan (ex-GSMA), Isabelle Pelly (independent), Tim McInerny (NRC), Kirsten Mildren (OCHA), Dina Morad (WFP) and Ruco Van de Merwe (USAID). Many thanks to members of the CaLP Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and other partners who assisted with the review of draft chapters including Stefan Bumbacher (SDC), Edward Fraser (DRC), Helene Juillard (Key Aid Consulting), Tenzin Manell (Women’s Refugee Commission), Niklas Rieger (Development Initiatives), Louisa Seferis (Ground Truth Solutions), Kristin Smart (Oxfam) and Jennifer Weatherall (CRS). We would like to thank Development Initiatives for their essential expertise and support in data analysis, without which it would not be possible to provide the CVA volume data included in this report. We are grateful to Ground Truth Solutions, particularly Emma Pritchard, Louisa Seferis, and Christian Els, for the generous contribution of their data, time, and analytical skills to provide a better representation of the perspectives of CVA recipients within this report. The core research and writing team in alphabetical order were: José Jódar Vidal (CaLP) Anna Kondakhchyan (CaLP) Ruth McCormack (CaLP) Karen Peachey (CaLP) Laura Phelps (independent consultant) Gaby Smith (independent consultant) This report would not have been possible without the efforts and inputs of many members of CaLP’s team around the world, including Oksana Davis, Alice Golay, Julie Lawson-McDowall, Pauline Pérez, Steph Roberson, Rose Smith, Sophie Tholstrup, and Jo-Anne Witcombe. Finally, our thanks go to Ric Allen for the design and branding of this report, to Alex Glynn and Tim Harcourt-Powell for their support on communications products and web design, and to I sobel Wilson-Cleary for copy-editing. FUNDING We would like to thank the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) for their generous funding contributions that made this publication possible. The views expressed in this publication are the authors’ alone and are not necessarily the views of the donors. Cover photo: IF R C 2 CALP – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CASH 2020 FOREWORD I am humbled to write the foreword for the second edition of the State of the World’s Cash Report. When the last report went to press in 2018, I doubt many people would have believed us if we had even tried to describe what would happen over the coming two years. In 2020 we find ourselves in unprecedented territory, with the humanitarian sector grappling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which has consumed the attention of governments, the general public, donors and aid organisations around the world. This is in addition to 79.5 million people displaced from their homes, long running conflicts and the horrific impacts of climate change, the full repercussions of which we are yet to see. But one thing remains constant. People need money. The humanitarian system has adapted to this reality over recent years and so cash assistance is no longer a novelty in humanitarian operations, increasing from $2 billion in 2015 to $5.6 billion in 2019. While this increase is a success story for the work envisaged in the Grand Bargain, we have further to go to ensure that cash is used wherever it’s the most effective and valued tool. We need to push harder to make cash the backbone in the humanitarian sector’s struggle to promote localisation of response. Breaking the in-all-but-name monopolies of the big aid agencies, upping the risk appetite of humanitarian donors to capacitate local institutions including local governments and aid organisations, and working directly with them on cash assistance. Importantly, aligning cash assistance with domestic social protection programmes, where appropriate, must be one of our priorities at a time when challenges are increasingly protracted. Cash assistance is also a tool which can help us to close the artificial but all-too-real humanitarian- development divide, to crack open these silos and to treat people affected by disasters, conflicts and pandemics as agents of their own destiny – by recognising them as human beings rather than “beneficiaries” with specific ring-fenced categorized needs as determined by agency mandates and specialisations. Economists are telling us that the fallout from the current global crisis will mean a sharp contraction in available resources, at a time when there is likely to be even greater need. So, inevitably, we will need to do more with less. Cash assistance can help us to do this, although we need to ensure we are delivering cash in ways which are preferred by recipients, promote physical and digital security, and empower crisis-affected people to choose how they weather and recover from crises. CaLP has been in existence for 15 years. It has become an invaluable resource to shape policies and deepen understanding and learning on cash and voucher assistance. This year’s State of the World’s Cash report will help further shape our collective thinking and improve how people will benefit from cash assistance. While tremendous progress has been made, we still have a journey ahead of us to unlock the full potential of this form of programming. This report provides us with the signposts. Now, more than ever, we need to follow them. Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood Special Advisor of Public Health to the Hon.Prime Minister of Malaysia Fo rm e r ro les include: Under Secretary-Genaral, Partnerships IFRC (2016-2020) Sherpa and Co-Chair of the Grand Bargain Localisation workstream (2016-2020) 3 CALP – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CASH 2020 CONTENTS Acknowledgements 2 F o r e w o r d 3 Terminology and acronyms 5 Introduction 8 State of the World’s Cash 2020 – An overview 9 Methodology 2 2 CHAPTER 1: FUNDING, POLICIES, VOLUME, AND COLLABORATION 2 5 Global objective: Ensure sufficient funding is available for CVA CHAPTER 2: MAINSTREAMING CVA – PROGRESS; RISKS & CHALLENGES 4 2 Global objective: Ensure cash is routinely considered alongside other tools CHAPTER 3: QUALITY PROGRAMMING 5 7 Global objective: Ensure the quality of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) CHAPTER 4: CAPACITY 7 6 Global objective: Build sufficient capacity for cash and voucher assistance programming CHAPTER 5: COORDINATION 8 8 Global objective: Strengthen the coordination of cash and voucher assistance CHAPTER 6A: EVIDENCE, LEARNING & INFORMATION SHARING 1 0 2 Global objective: Strengthen the evidence base and invest in innovation CHAPTER 6B: INVESTING IN INNOVATION FOR CVA 1 1 3 Global objective: Strengthen the evidence base and invest in innovation CHAPTER 7: LOCALISATION 1 2 1 Global objective: Support CVA integration with local systems CHAPTER 8: CVA & SOCIAL PROTECTION 1 3 5 Global objective: Build appropriate and effective links between CVA and social protection CHAPTER 9: COVID-19 AND CVA 1 5 1 Impacts and Implications of the Crisis and Response ANNEX 1: GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION 1 6 6 ANNEX 2: METHODOLOGY 1 6 8 ANNEX 3: STATE OF THE WORLD’S CASH 2020 - PRIORITY ACTIONS 1 7 6 4 CALP – THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S CASH 2020 TERMINOLOGY AND ACRONYMS KEY CVA TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS REPORT The evolution of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) in humanitarian programming is often reflected in the terminology that is used, with CVA itself being a relatively new term. CaLP’s Glossary of Terminology for Cash and Voucher Assistance , last updated in 2018 1 , is the central reference for relevant CVA terms and definitions for readers of this report. The box below highlights some key terms, noting how understanding has evolved with the aim of clarifying how these terms are used in the report. Clarifications on Key Terminology ‘Cash and Voucher Assistance’ (CVA) was introduced in 2018 as the recommended umbrella term for humanitarian cash and vouchers. This is intended to replace terms including Cash Transfer Programming (CTP) and Cash-Based Transfers (CBT) which are misleading as umbrella terms as it is not clear that they cover both cash and vouchers. CVA is used throughout this report where reference is being made broadly to humanitarian programming which uses cash and/or vouchers. T h e te rm s ‘cash assistance’ o r ‘c a s h ’ are used when referring specifically to the use of cash transfers. Unless otherwise noted, we generally avoid using ‘cash’ as a shorthand for CVA more broadly – there are some exceptions, including in the coordination chapter as the term Cash Working Groups is generally used rather than CVA working groups.