Earthquake emergency cash response - March 2023
Key highlights: Emergency cash assistance to earthquake-affected families caring for children with disabilities - Aleppo Governorate
Highlights
This report provides the key highlights of the rapid Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) survey, which was conducted among earthquake-affected families who benefitted from UNICEF’s emergency cash assistance in Aleppo governorate.
In Aleppo governorate, about one quarter of families who were enrolled in the Integrated Social Protection Programme for Children with Disabilities were directly affected by the earthquake. The most significant impact was displacement and loss of assets/livelihoods.
To help affected families meet their basic needs and mitigate the economic shock created by the earthquake, they all received a first cash top-up of SYP 1.54 million (US$ 233) between 19 and 26 February, or less than three weeks after the earthquake.
The survey shows that families have used the cash to address their specific needs, which varied based on their unique vulnerabilities. Key highlights are:
- Over forty per cent of the cash was used to repair homes and pay rent. Other use of the cash was for food (22 per cent), health (15 per cent), clothes (10 per cent), and WASH (6 per cent).
- About 20 per cent of families used the entirety of the cash top-up for house repairs.
- While house repairs and rent were the top expenditures in the aftermath of the earthquake, basic consumption patterns of families caring for CWD have not changed. Families still prioritize food, health, and non-food items, underlining the importance of unconditional and unrestricted cash assistance.
- On average, families spent the cash in 7.2 days.
- There was high level of satisfaction with the cash response. 81 per cent of beneficiaries reported that they were “satisfied” with the cash response. In contrast, 11 per cent reported they were satisfied to “some extent” while 8 per cent reported they were not satisfied.
