Human Mobility
Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is frequently used to meet the needs of migrants in crisis. This page serves as a space to house materials connected to CVA and migration.
The Red Cross is preparing to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants ready to depart Honduras for Guatemala as part of a migrant caravan.
©Johannes Chinchilla / IFRC.
Conflict, economic crisis and natural disasters have forced people on arduous and risky journeys across multiple borders in search of safety, security and livelihoods. In 2020, the number of people forcibly displaced soared to a record high of over 80 million – nearly double the number a decade earlier. This trend is worsening and the effects of climate change threaten to displace up to 200 million people by 2050.
Increasingly, cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is being used to meet the needs of people on the move. It has been used at scale in various contexts from the 2015 European migration crises to ‘los caminantes’ from Venezuela. Equally, it has been used in other mixed migration crises, such as Central America, the Sahel, the Mediterranean, and the Horn of Africa. Currently, CVA is one of the main forms of assistance to the displaced populations in Ukraine and the surroundings countries.
There are many perspectives and definitions about what it means to be a migrant and how humanitarians should respond. Intentionally, we are not using a single definition for now as the discussion on CVA and migration is in its early stages a language is evolving.
Documenting and sharing evidence will help improve response effectiveness. This page houses a useful selection of resources related to migrants and the use of CVA. It will be updated as conversations evolve within humanitarian CVA spaces.
Current priorities
We aim to contribute to progress on this issue by:
- Supporting evidence generation at regional and global levels;
- contributing to practical solutions to delivering CVA to migrant populations; and
- convening evidence-based discussion on the key issues.
Featured content
How is CVA operationalized at Humanitarian Service Points (HSP)?
Guidelines and Tools
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s Humanitarian Service Points (HSPs) are designed to create a safe and welcoming space for migrants to receive services at key points on migration routes. As part of their toolkit on HSP, there is a module on cash and voucher assistance. The module contains the key things programme designers, staff, and volunteers should think about, including...
Mapping a Route-Based Approach to CVA: Feasibility in select contexts in the Americas
Report
This research looks at the feasibility of a route-based approach to CVA in the Americas, presenting its potential through three perspectives: people on the move, humanitarian organizations, and financial service providers (FSP).
People are on the move: Can the world of CVA keep up? Analysis of the use of CVA in the context of human mobility in the Americas
Report
This study proposes a new vision for the implementation of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) in contexts of human mobility in the Americas region.
Four Reasons to Use a Route-Based Approach to Cash and Voucher Assistance
Blog Post
With human mobility being a fact of most humanitarian crises, is it time to change from a country to a route-based approach? With four key points, Holly Welcome Radice argues the time for a route-based approach has arrived.
This is not a drill: Cash and human mobility
Blog Post
In this blog Paula Gil Baizan presents three new lenses through which we can view human mobility. She outlines how these lenses intersect with Cash and Voucher Assistance with a particular focus on the Americas.
Event Report: The feasibility of a route-based approach with CVA: The case of Guatemala
Meeting minutes
In 2022, CALP recognized the importance of human mobility and CVA and invited its network to contribute to the evidence and debate. CALP conducted the study People are on the move: Can the world of CVA keep up? Analysis of the use of CVA in the context of human mobility in the Americas examined the use of CVA with people on the move. It also conducted several online exchanges on human mobility...
Onward Bound: Evaluating Cash and Voucher Assistance for Migrants on Sahel’s Migration Trail – Research and learnings from the Sahel region
Report
This research – a collaboration between the British Red Cross and Samuel Hall – provides evidence on the opportunities and challenges to integrate cash and vouchers assistance (CVA) as a support modality in migration programming in the context of transit migration in the Sahel. While CVA has become increasingly common and popular among implementing agencies and donors, there is limited...
DIGNIFYING, DIVERSE AND DESIRED: CASH AND VOUCHERS AS HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR MIGRANTS
Report
This report looks at the use of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) in supporting migrants. This report includes a baseline review of the use of CVA in the IFRC’s past and current operations assisting migrants, finding that in a 42-month period between 2018 and 2021, CVA was used in 25 per cent of the IFRC’s emergency responses assisting migrants. The report highlights over 35 diverse...
CVA in Migration Context – Voices of Migrants in Niger
Report
On 24–31 August 2021, the Niger Red Cross, supported by the IFRC, conducted a survey with 35 migrants in neighbourhoods around the capital city of Niamey to ask about their views on CVA, their preferences, and their views on digital identities. This report provides a summary of the responses from the migrant communities.
CASH ON THE MOVE – Adapting Multi-Purpose Cash ‘Plus’ Assistance to support people on the move in Peru
Report
In 2019 and 2020, with the support of USAID´s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (formerly FFP and OFDA), Save the Children implemented
a multi-purpose cash ‘Plus’ program in response to the influx of Venezuelan migrants into Peru.
Households that were only transiting through the cities where they were identified were provided with a one-off cash transfer assistance aiming
at covering...
IOM Cash-Based Interventions: Annual Report and Case Studies 2023
Report
In recent years, IOM has placed special attention on increasing the use and coordination of cash-based interventions (CBI) across the organization in line with the Grand Bargain commitments and the IOM CBI Strategy 2022–2026.
In 2023, IOM continued to increase the use of CBI modalities to empower aid recipients and strengthen the resilience of affected populations. CBI was utilized in 112...
Cash Transfers Programs and Human Mobility: Sharing experiences, debates, and learnings
Report
Cash Transfers have been one of the commitments of the Grand Bargain in which significant progress has been made. It should be noted that the challenges posed by different humanitarian contexts also oblige us to improve and revise these modalities of assistance in complex situations. The large flows of human mobility urgently require a design of solutions focused on transforming the system for...
Cross-Country Collaboration in Cash Assistance: Worthwhile or wasted effort?
Blog Post
This blog explores the regional dynamics of the Sudan crisis and cash and voucher assistance in the different countries affected by the crisis. It examines the potential advantages of collaboration between Cash Working Groups across borders and how this might be achieved.
Cash & Voucher Assistance (CVA) & Child Protection (CP) Global Study – Research Report in the DRC, Egypt, Lithuania and the Philippines
Report
Since 2022, Save the Children has been scaling up its use of CVA for Child Protection (CP) programming through various pilot projects.
Research was commissioned in four countries in 2022-23 to generate evidence and learning to inform the design of future programming but also to design a robust implementation and monitoring methodology to measure the outcomes of CVA on specific child...
Route-based Programming in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mid-term report. May 2024
Report
This document serves as a mid-term report of CashCap’s
Route-Based Programming deployment in Latin America
and the Caribbean, exploring the fundamental question:
How might we design humanitarian interventions
that effectively address the critical needs of mobile
populations, and mitigate protection risks within
the constraints of different migratory routes?
While this report presents...
CVA in migration context – Voices of migrants in Kenya
Report
This report summarizes community consultations that were conducted in Kakuma refugee camp and Kalobeyei integrated settlement. It introduces the local context and the current user journey, experiences and preferences around cash and voucher assistance and digital identity solutions.
Cash on the Move – Lessons Learnt from the Ukraine Regional Response
Report
This report focuses on key programmatic and operational lessons learnt from SC’s Ukraine regional response in the use of CVA as a tool to provide assistance to populations on the move. It is organized around key enablers, challenges and recommendation during start up, implementation and monitoring of CVA in Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Romania and Georgia. The lessons learnt generated through...
Empowering Communities: Examining CORE’s Delivery of Food Vouchers to Immigrant and Refugee Households in Brazil
Report
In 2022 alone Brazil hosted more than 560,000 refugees, asylum-seekers, stateless individuals and other individuals needing international protection. With year-on-year increase this trend is likely to continue. Although the government of Brazil does extend several protections to refugees—including documents, work, and study—the needs significantly outweigh the government’s capacity for...
Thematic Leads
Latest
Documentary – Palabras para Luciana – Delivering people-centered CVA to people on the move in Colombia
Video
This documentary shows the innovative CVA work of ZOA and RedRose with people on the move along the migration trails in Colombia. Innovative technology, human centered design and impact come together in this project that is implemented in a complex displacement setting.
The documentary tells the...
Cross-Country Collaboration in Cash Assistance: Worthwhile or wasted effort?
Blog Post
This blog explores the regional dynamics of the Sudan crisis and cash and voucher assistance in the different countries affected by the crisis. It examines the potential advantages of collaboration between Cash Working Groups across borders and how this might be achieved.
We Looked Back: Now Let’s Move Forward Humanitarian CVA in the Americas 2018–2023
Report
Between 2018 and 2023, the landscape of humanitarian aid transformed in the Americas, particularly with the increased implementation of CVA in the region.
Mapping of Cash and Voucher Assistances (CVAs) in Türkiye in 2023
Report
TÜRKİYE CASH-BASED INTERVENTIONS TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP | 2024
Cash-Based Interventions Technical Working Group (CBI TWG) published this document to
share a summary of the findings of Mapping of CVAs in Türkiye in 2023, along with the
background information and purpose (Annex A). Further findings...
User Journeys of Cash + Entrepreneurship Participants: A journey mapping case study from Colombia
Report
The VenEsperanza Consortium’s latest report showcases the real experiences of participants who received cash assistance and complementary entrepreneurship programming though journey mapping. Inspired by human-centered design, journey mapping aims to understand diverse users’ needs, behaviors, and...
User Journeys of Cash + Savings Group Participants: A journey mapping case study from Colombia
Report
The VenEsperanza Consortium’s latest report showcases the real experiences of participants who received cash assistance and complementary savings group programming though journey mapping. Inspired by human-centered design, journey mapping aims to understand diverse users’ needs, behaviors, and...
How is CVA operationalized at Humanitarian Service Points (HSP)?
Guidelines and Tools
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s Humanitarian Service Points (HSPs) are designed to create a safe and welcoming space for migrants to receive services at key points on migration routes. As part of their toolkit on HSP, there is a module on cash and voucher assistance. The module contains...
IOM Cash-Based Interventions: Annual Report and Case Studies 2023
Report
In recent years, IOM has placed special attention on increasing the use and coordination of cash-based interventions (CBI) across the organization in line with the Grand Bargain commitments and the IOM CBI Strategy 2022–2026.
In 2023, IOM continued to increase the use of CBI modalities to empower aid...
CVA Feasibility Assessment: Upper East and Upper West Regions, Ghana
Report
The worsening security situation in Burkina Faso has led to the influx of over 15,000 asylum seekers into the Upper East and Upper West regions of Ghana. This has placed significant pressure on the already limited resources of the host communities, particularly in the area hosting the settlements of...
Advocating for Cash and Voucher Assistance with Governments
Webinar recording
‘Advocating for Cash and Voucher Assistance with Governments’.
We were delighted to be joined by a distinguished expert panel of Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement senior leaders:
- Alper Kucuk, Director General for International Affairs and Migration Services, Türk Kızılay;
- Caroline...
Route-based Programming in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mid-term report. May 2024
Report
This document serves as a mid-term report of CashCap’s
Route-Based Programming deployment in Latin America
and the Caribbean, exploring the fundamental question:
How might we design humanitarian interventions
that effectively address the critical needs of mobile
populations, and mitigate protection...
Integrating Livelihoods Support into Emergency Assistance Programming
Guidelines and Tools
This report draws on research and learning to advocate for broader consideration of expanded humanitarian response programming, especially in situations of prolonged crises. Livelihoods programs have a crucial role to play in emergency settings, especially when combined with and aligned with cash...
Colombia and Lebanon Evaluation Report: Measuring the impact of cash on child protection outcomes
Report
As humanitarian crises break down traditional protection mechanisms and the loss of income restricts access to basic resources, children become increasingly vulnerable to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and violence. Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is a critical modality that is increasingly being adopted...
Cash & Voucher Assistance (CVA) & Child Protection (CP) Global Study – Research Report in the DRC, Egypt, Lithuania and the Philippines
Report
Since 2022, Save the Children has been scaling up its use of CVA for Child Protection (CP) programming through various pilot projects.
Research was commissioned in four countries in 2022-23 to generate evidence and learning to inform the design of future programming but also to design a robust...
Cash and Vouchers Assistance (CVA) and Child Protection: Summary of practice and evidence from Save the Children programmes 2023 Edition
Report
In an effort to increase global knowledge and learning, Save the Children conducted a global review of twenty Country Offices and their programs in order to assess and highlight the impact that different forms of Cash and Vouchers Assistance (CVA) have on Child Protection (CP) outcomes, to identify...
Cash & Voucher Assistance (CVA) for Health Outcomes: a case study in Peru
Report
This case study is drawn from Save the Children CVA operations in Peru between 2021 and 2023, focusing on the achievement of health outcomes for vulnerable Venezuelan migrants.
Following an overview of the contexts and of the needs, it deep dives into the technical design of the integrated program,...
Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) for Children Associated with Armed Groups and Armed Forces (CAAFAG): Program Summary and Evidence-Building Infographic: A case study from Save the Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Report
This infographic gathers key programmatic data from Save the Children CVA operations in the DRC (South Kivu) between October 2022 and October 2023, which aimed to assess and highlight the impact that CVA has on child protection outcomes, with a specific focus on children associated with armed...
Egypt Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) and Child Labor: Program Summary and Evidence-Building Infographic
Report
This infographic highlights the main findings and achievements of Save the Children CVA operations in Egypt between March 2023 and November 2023, which aimed to assess and highlight the impact that CVA has on child protection outcomes, with a specific focus on unaccompanied and separated refugee children...
Lithuania Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) for Child Protection (CP): Program Summary and Evidence-Building Infographic
Report
This infographic gathers key programmatic data from Save the Children CVA operations in Lithuania, within the larger context of the Ukrainian crisis, between December 2022 and April 2023, which aimed to assess and highlight the impact that CVA has on child protection outcomes, with a specific focus on...
Cash Coordination in Poland: Early lessons learnt from the humanitarian response for Ukrainian war refugees
Report
This thesis was submitted for obtaining the Master’s Degree in International Humanitarian Action. By submitting the thesis, the author certifies that the text is from his hand, does not include the work of someone else unless clearly indicated, and that the thesis has been produced in accordance with...