Humanitarian cash transfers explained

What are humanitarian cash transfers?

Humanitarian cash transfers are payments made in the form of physical currency or e-cash that can be used to address humanitarian needs in any type of emergency. They are a highly effective way of providing humanitarian assistance to individuals and households.

How do cash transfers work?

Cash can be provided as a one-off payment or as regular monthly transfers. These transfers can be delivered as currency via bank accounts, post offices, companies providing money transfer services, through the use of mobile phones, or simply by hand. Cash transfers can be given as a standalone payment and/or combined with other types of services such as nutrition, education and child protection. Where possible, UNICEF works through established government systems, disbursing cash through existing national social protection delivery channels and/or via a direct approach utilizing UNICEF’s own delivery systems.

Who is eligible for cash transfers?

Determining who will benefit most from humanitarian assistance is a critical step in designing cash transfer programmes, which should be tailored to the specific contexts of a given country or emergency. A range of targeting criteria are used to identify households most in need of support. Per its mandate, UNICEF usually targets families with children, families with a child under two, pregnant and lactating mothers, families with children living with disabilities, etc.

Strong public communication around targeting and enrolment are essential to ensure eligible households are reached. UNICEF may also establish a direct channel of communication with cash recipients for feedback and complaint mechanisms, ensuring they’re able to report and voice any issues.

Why are humanitarian cash transfers a good idea?

Humanitarian cash transfers help UNICEF serve children and families better. They are a cost-effective way of quickly getting support to those who need it most. The overall cost of delivering cash assistance is often lower than in-kind assistance, meaning more people can be reached.

Cash transfers also empower people to make decisions based on their individual situation, allowing recipients to meet their basic needs and restart their livelihoods in a dignified and respectful way. Plus, because the money households receive is spent in local markets, humanitarian cash transfers support communities and stimulate local economies.

In the longer term, cash transfers can build households’ resilience, strengthening their ability to better cope with shocks and reducing vulnerability to future crises.

Does UNICEF use humanitarian cash transfers?

Yes, humanitarian cash transfers have been a vital part of UNICEF’s emergency toolkit for responding to conflicts, disasters and protracted crises. UNICEF uses its expertise in both social protection system strengthening and in the direct delivery of cash, to fulfill its humanitarian and development mandate.

UNICEF’s first choice when giving cash to crisis-affected families is, when possible, to use national systems. When an existing national system cannot be used in full, UNICEF will look to use parts of the existing system such as beneficiary lists or social workers for community outreach. UNICEF will provide additional capacity as needed. In places where this is not possible, UNICEF will put in place a full system with partners to deliver cash to support crisis-affected families.

Whenever providing cash grants, UNICEF believes unrestricted and unconditional cash transfers should be one of the first options systematically explored to deliver on the Core Commitments for Children – UNICEF’s humanitarian policy and framework. This ensures that child-sensitive humanitarian cash transfers are used to help uphold the rights of children affected by humanitarian crises to promote a predictable, effective and timely humanitarian response.

UNICEF uses humanitarian cash transfers to complement other activities, such as access to education or nutrition services, and to ensure all children’s needs are met across UNICEF sectors of intervention. UNICEF calls these interventions a “Cash-Plus” approach, with cash grants used to support the capacity of households to prevent and withstand risks, enhancing overall resilience in fragile and humanitarian contexts. 

UNICEF is committed to further strengthening and building governments’ capacity to deliver humanitarian cash transfers during emergencies. Moving forward, UNICEF will continue to work jointly with governments, United Nation agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to achieve effective and efficient programmes that provide individuals and households with the support they need in a cost-effective and dignified way.