Examining Protection and Gender in Cash and Voucher Transfers – Report

With cash and voucher transfers increasing as a form of humanitarian assistance, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) teamed up to study the potential protection and gender impact of such transfers. While much research had been done about economic and market impacts of cash and voucher transfers, there has been less focus on the human dimensions of such transfers: examining dignity and empowerment of beneficiaries, beneficiary safety, and whether and how beneficiaries’ access to assistance as well as gender dynamics and community relations, and beneficiary preferences.

The eight-country study revealed that many of the protection concerns related to cash and vouchers, while legitimate, could be addressed with careful programming. Many of the protection concerns found in the study also existed with in-kind assistance. This suggests the need to move away from thinking of cash and vouchers in isolation, and focus on how programme design can best incorporate and, where possible, promote protection outcomes.

The report summary is available here