Stepping up CVA with COVID-19: Paving the way we respond to future crisis

COVID-19 has thrown the world into lockdown and taken a tremendous toll on the health, social, and economic status of vulnerable communities, households, and individuals. Limitations on daily activities and an over-arching health crisis, restrictions on movement, closures of schools and businesses have had severe economic and social implications for everyone, particularly those who are already coping with crisis and poverty. This brief provides a few examples of how Oxfam and partners have designed and adapted Cash and Voucher (CVA) initiatives in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

These illustrate positive shifts occurring in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and will inform the way we work long past the pandemic by setting the foundations for more effective and accountable responses. This brief focuses on shifts in:

1. Working in equitable partnership with local and national actors
2. Flexible and adaptable programs for direct and remote distributions
3. Directly working with and in support of national social protection systems
4. Digital delivery systems, including registration, transfer, and monitoring systems
5. Innovative approaches improving the aid recipients’ journey through the project

Translations of this brief will be available in Spanish, Arabic and French (in progress).