You asked, we acted: Lots going on in the Americas on CVA and Social Protection
Sometimes it’s good to pause and take stock and realise just how much progress is being made! Responding to clear demand, in recent months, we’ve been working with many of you to refresh and develop resources on linkages between CVA and social protection. Lots has been achieved drawing on the collective efforts in the Americas region. Here’s a quick catch-up!
One thing is sure in the CALP Network, people want to talk about linkages of social protection and humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA). Practitioners often ask us:
- How can they make linkages in their contexts?
- Where are the promising practices are?
- How can they build their skills and knowledge on the topic?
Humanitarian CVA and links to social protection and is such a hot topic that in the last State of the World’s Cash 2020, it merited its own chapter. The study found that while there were advances on demystifying the topic, there is a lack of collective understanding between humanitarian and development actors, long-term investments would be needed to institutionalize commitments into action, and capacity gaps are persistent.
The Americas: A region with opportunities and experience that wants more
While the topic is hot in every region where CALP works, the Americas offers a special case. Throughout the region every country has a social protection system that uses CVA. Given this, it’s only natural that the Network in the Americas would request CALP to develop a wide range of products and opportunities that would speak to the diverse contexts in the Americas—and produce them in Spanish, the dominate language of the region.
REDLAC and R4V convened a 2021 event Linking Cash and Voucher Assistance with Social Protection Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. The event provided a space to reflect on experiences from over fifteen countries and territories. The event report and recording provide a wealth of information for practitioners working the region and left people hungering for more.
The requests kept coming: What we did
In 2022, the CALP Network team put linkages to Social Protection and humanitarian CVA as one of the highest priorities on our work plan in the Americas. We consulted actors and tried to fulfil the requests. With the support of many organizations, we acted:
- You wanted original research: we produced a study on the use of CVA in Social Protection with case studies; we collaborated with the Cash Working Group of R4V to find experiences of Cash Working Groups who recently collaborated with national Social Protection systems.
- You needed something short and snappy: we created executive summaries of our study, a case study on Honduras and the Dominican Republic and a punchy blog.
- You asked for tools and examples: we translated our Toolbox – Linking Humanitarian CVA and Social Protection into Spanish. This toolbox brings together a set of 150+ key resources with practical guidance and templates.
- You wanted training: we translated course materials into Spanish (Part 1, Part 2) and certified two new trainers who can now deliver give the course in Spanish and are from the region.
- You needed spaces to learn and exchange: with the support of Acción Contra el Hambre. GOAL, Cash Cap/Norcap and UNICEF, we co-sponsored training and learning spaces in Guatemala and Honduras with over 50 people participating in two-day sessions.
- You didn’t have time to read long reports: we made multimedia products including infographics, a video, and podcast, and put our webinar on YouTube.
New training available starting in November
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our first ever Spanish-language online “Linkages of Social Protection and Humanitarian CVA” course. This free, self-paced course guides learners through essential concepts from world of Social Protection and humanitarian CVA. As we updated the course, we included examples from throughout the Americas and added more resources in Spanish. Learners can sign-up for the course through Kaya Connect.
Keeping the momentum
We are excited to be part of a growing movement on improving the linkages between Social Protection and humanitarian CVA in the Americas. There’s lots going on.
- Actors like GOAL International have invested in providing technical assistance and training in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.
- The Cash Working Group in Colombia, with support from Cash Cap, undertook an extensive and collective identification of potential linkages with the Colombian Social Protection System.
- In Guatemala, the Cash Working Group has included a continued focus on the theme – as a result of the training.
Is your organization working on something? Let’s share and learn together.
