A cash boost to navigate a crisis
The UNICEF-supported Cash Plus programme has provided a much-needed lifeline for vulnerable households in 12 targeted municipalities across Nepal in coping with the effects of COVID-19
Kanchanpur, Nepal: Like many families around the country, Nirmala Sunar had found it extremely challenging to provide for her family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nirmala’s husband had been the family’s sole breadwinner, and as COVID-19 began its disruptive spread and impacted movement and livelihoods, it became increasingly difficult for the couple from the Laljhadi Rural Municipality in Kanchanpur District in far-western Nepal to purchase food and educational supplies for their children. Every day was a struggle to make ends meet.
Fortunately for the Sunars, Laljhadi was one of the 12 municipalities across 10 districts where the UNICEF-supported Cash Plus programme was being piloted at the time in coordination with Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration.
The programme was designed to support the most vulnerable households to cope with the impacts of COVID-19 by enabling access to assistance in the form of cash, nutrition, hygiene products and child protection services. The assistance was channeled through the Government of Nepal’s existing Social Security Allowance system.
With the cash support, Nirmala was able to buy better, more nutritious food for her family, even managing to save some money for her daughter’s school expenses.
In a similar vein, in Barbardiya Municipality in Bardiya District, another of the areas where the Cash Plus programme was implemented, local Tika Badi used the support to bring clean drinking water into her home.
After buying and installing a tube well, Tika and her family had easier access to water – enough, in fact, to sustain a small kitchen garden where she could grow vegetables. These were enough for Tika and her family to consume, relieving her from the worry of having to buy fresh produce.
In total, 8,902 households like that of Nirmala and Tika were provided with cash support, of which 7,371 were from Dalit households with children under five, and 1,531 were households with persons with disabilities.
The 12 municipalities were identified based on high socio-economic needs, such as areas with existing burdens of malnutrition or flood-prone areas. Households were then selected based on a multiple-deprivation analysis, to identify the most vulnerable families, including those most impacted by the effects of COVID-19.
“The cash support proved very useful for families in purchasing basic necessities, and coping with the impact of the crisis,” says Renu Badayak, in-charge of the Social Security Programme in Laljhadi.
“It has had a very positive impact, and made a significant difference in the lives of many in the community.”
