It’s time for a route-based approach in CVA programming: Unpacking the criteria to meet the needs of people on the move

Taking a ‘route-based approach’

A route-based approach involves thinking beyond borders, and offering payments to people flexibly along their route across multiple countries.

The study argues that a route-based is the best approach because:

• It is desirable: People on the move make it clear that they prefer CVA, which has been stated through other studies cited in this research. However, the flexibility of CVA can be undermined by delivering it on a country-by-country basis.
• It’s effective: A route-based approach can better meet the specific needs of people on the move.
• It is feasible: Humanitarians sometimes express that no financial service providers work across borders; this is untrue. There are options: closed-loop payment networks, FinTech products, digital currencies, wholesale banks, payment aggregators, and payment rails.
• It’s already happening: Actors are already innovating with this approach, for example in programs taking place in routes between Venezuela and Colombia.

During this event we:

• Learned about the key findings and proposals from our recent study “Mapping a Route-Based Approach to CVA: Feasibility in select contexts in the Americas”, including which are the benefits of adopting such an approach.
• Identified how humanitarian actors can apply the criteria for a route-based approach to their work.
• Recognized the necessary tools to take action to implement a route-based approach to CVA in the Americas and beyond.

Our guests were:

• Daniela Funez, Regional Coordinator for the Americas for Cash and Voucher Assistance at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
• Guadalupe García Ramírez, Government KAM & legal representative
  at Up Sí Vale.
• Pierre Norzeron, Regional (LAC) Program Officer Food Security, Cash and Basic Needs at DG ECHO.
• Héctor José Añez, CVA recipient.

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