Gender and Inclusion
Gender, age, abilities and other individual or context-specific characteristics present different opportunities and challenges to provide CVA to people in crisis in a dignified manner.
Among humanitarian actors, there is an increasing acknowledgement of the specific needs and constraints of people of differing abilities, older people, people of different genders, particularly women, and people on the move. Alongside this is a growing appreciation of the need for tailored and sensitive measures that ensure their effective inclusion.
Supporting the needs of diverse people with CVA goes beyond making them a target group; it is about meaningful engagement, purposive design and implementation, and programme adjustment to meet different groups’ needs with dignity. Inclusive approaches go hand in hand with people-centred aid.
Current priorities
The CALP Network will continue to encourage cash actors to widen their focus to be more inclusive and champion a fuller understanding of how CVA can go beyond the notion of ‘do no harm’ towards appropriately addressing the needs of diverse people in safe and dignified manners.
We will work to elevate the experiences and initiatives on CVA and gender, disability inclusive CVA, working with different ethnicities and cultural identities, minority groups, people with diverse sexual identities, and age groups.
CALP will also strive to make its work as accessible as possible.
Featured content
Collected Papers on Gender and Cash Transfer Programmes in Humanitarian Contexts
Report
Existing gender inequalities mean that disasters and conflicts impact women, men, girls and boys differently. Cash based assistance is one of the most significant developments in humanitarian assistance in recent years. But the relationship between gender and cash based assistance in humanitarian contexts is poorly understood. All too often, interventions are designed based on assumptions...
Microlearning video: CVA and Gender
Blog Post
This video provides an overview of the relationship between gender and cash and voucher assistance (CVA) structured around the humanitarian project cycle, which include: Assessment and response analysis: How to adjust the assessment processes to achieve a more accurate reflection of gender and markets. Design and implementation: How to use methods and protocols to reduce the potential...
Better Gender Outcomes in Food Assistance through Complementary and Multi-Modal Programing: Promising Practices Tip Sheet
Guidelines and Tools
This Tip Sheet is excerpted from the research report, “Better Gender Outcomes in Food Assistance through Complementary and Multi-Modal programming,” and gives promising practices by the cycles of project cycle management, as well as at the response level. Additionally, there are expert tips and wisdom practices that support the use of a gendered approach in development or humanitarian...
Cash & Voucher Assistance and Gender-Based Violence Compendium
Guidelines and Tools
The Compendium is intended as a companion to the 2015 Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines for Integrating Gender-Based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Action and its companion resource, the GBV Pocket Guide. The guidance was developed through the efforts of 15 organizations who contributed expertise in the inception, design and review of the document. The process was led...
A Gendered Analysis on Cash for Work Programming in Lahj Governorate
Case Study
Cash for Work (CFW) programmes are designed to help the most vulnerable people meet their essential and basic needs. In Yemen, CFW interventions are responding to an ever-growing proportion of the Yemeni population that are in need of humanitarian assistance. Working with communities in the targeted areas of Hudayda and Lahj, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SIDA-funded...
How to Promote Gender Equality in Humanitarian Cash and Voucher Assistance
Guidelines and Tools
The use of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) in humanitarian action is increasing rapidly.
With this rise, there is also growing demand by stakeholders to ensure CVA is more gender-responsive, addressing gender gaps and moving towards greater gender equality.
Gender-responsive CVA, which recognizes existing disparities and addresses the needs of all crisis-affected people equally, has the...
Gender-Sensitive Cash and Voucher Assistance: Guidance to ensure the approach in the field
Guidelines and Tools
This guidance builds on CARE’s ambition-via practice, research, evidence on CVA–and aims to support the application of gender sensitive CVA throughout the project cycle and at the response level. It is divided into two sections: – Part A: ‘What has been learned about gender sensitive CVA?,’ briefly explains the recommendations that came from the research. – Part B: ‘How do we...
Enablers and Gaps: Gender Equality, Gender-Based Violence Response and Mitigation in Cash and Voucher Assistance at Response levels: analysis on three case studies
Report
The Gender and Cash Sub-Workstream identified three case studies that illustrate how Cash Working Groups, GBV Sub-Clusters, gender focal points (e.g. Gender in Humanitarian Action Working groups at country and regional level) and humanitarian partnerships can enable meaningful and wider engagement on gender equity and GBV response in CVA. The case studies all show different aspects of linking...
How to mitigate gender-based violence (GBV) risks in cash and voucher assistance (CVA)
Video
Cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is an important tool to help individuals affected by crises get back on their feet. But just like any other form of assistance, it is vital to ensure that it does not fuel tensions in the household or in the community and that it does not create new risks for women and girls. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways that cash actors can work to mitigate risks...
Inclusive Information Systems for Social Protection: Intentionally Integrating Gender and Disability
Policy paper
Digital information systems serving the social protection sector, and especially social assistance, are increasingly prominent and will continue to be, as is the case within all other sectors. “Why? Because the ability of a country to care for its people and respond to their lifecycle needs depends on its ability to identify those who are in need, enroll them, provide tailored benefits and...
Mainstreaming disability inclusion into humanitarian CVA
Presentation
What is a rights-based approach to disability? How can disability inclusion be mainstreamed to ensure more inclusive and effective CVA humanitarian responses? To answer these key questions, CALP, CBM Global, European Disability Forum and International Organization for Migration (IOM), came together to organize the webinar “Mainstreaming disability inclusion into humanitarian CVA”, with the...
Disability Inclusive Cash Assistance: Learnings from Practice in Humanitarian Response
Guidelines and Tools
This case study collection describes lessons learned from seven inclusive humanitarian cash transfer projects implemented from 2015 – 2020 in Niger, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines, and Indonesia, and five ongoing projects from the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic responses. This good practice collection aims to benefit both humanitarian practitioners engaged in Cash Based Interventions...
Cash and beyond – Analysis of extra costs associated with disabilities and disability-specific social protection in Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Russian invasion
Report
Following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022 and the consequent humanitarian crisis, the country has experienced active fighting and massive displacement, both within and outside its borders. Persons with disabilities and older persons have been facing particularly harsh effects, especially for those with more severe forms of disabilities, who encountered challenges in...
Thematic lead
Latest
Can Conditional Cash Transfers improve the uptake of nutrition interventions and household food security? Evidence from Odisha’s Mamata scheme
Report
There is considerable global evidence on the effectiveness of cash transfers in improving health and nutrition outcomes; however, the evidence from South Asia, particularly India, is limited. In the context of India where more than a third of children are undernourished, and where there is considerable...
Food – Restricted Voucher or Unrestricted Voucher Cash? How to Best Support Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon?
Report
The World Food Programme (WFP) plays a pivotal role in the food security of Syrian refugees within the Syria +5 region. WFP periodically reviews its operational approach, so it is timely to consider what the best modality for the next phase of the response might be, including the pros and cons of...
Shock-Responsive Social Protection Systems Research Case Study: Pakistan
Report
This case study presents an overview of the social protection disaster risk management and humanitarian systems in Pakistan, and discusses both Pakistan’s flagship social protection programme, the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), as well as emergency cash transfers provided as disaster...
Targeting vulnerable households for humanitarian cash transfers: using a community based, participatory approach to target the most vulnerable in Zimbabwe’s cash-first response
Report
Over 73,000 drought affected households across 15 districts in Zimbabwe received monthly multi-purpose, unconditional cash transfers. With such a large caseload over a wide area, 100% verification of the households would not have been the most resource efficient approach. Moreover, there would have been a...
Community Based Targeting Report
Report
The current study aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of SEV from the community’s perspective and to assess the targeting practices implemented by cash actors in Lebanon. It demonstrated that, according to the community, HH size had an impact on vulnerability, but that that depended on its...
The Transformative Impacts of Unconditional Cash Transfers: Evidence from two government programmes in Zambia
Report
Unconditional cash transfers are on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa, with recent estimates indicating a doubling of programmes between 2010 and 2014.This brief provides an overview of the comprehensive
impacts across eight domains of two unconditional cash transfer programmes implemented by the...
The Livelihood Impacts of Cash Transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Beneficiary Perspectives from Six Countries
Report
Cash transfers (CTs) are a social protection mechanism to reduce the poorest households’ vulnerability to shocks and build human
capital by smoothing consumption and sustaining expenditure on education and social welfare.
This study examines whether and how CTs go beyond welfare objectives to promote...
2016/7 Winter Inter-Agency PDM Report
Report
Between August 2016 and March 2017, fourteen organizations provided more than 140,000 Syrian refugee households in Turkey with assistance to stay warm through the harsh winter season. Organizations delivered winter support to refugees in 52 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, primarily through restricted and...
Gender Analysis for MVAC Emergency Cash Transfer Programme
Report
Cash Transfers (CTs) provided an effective means of supporting men and women to meet their basic needs in an emergency. CTs assisted men and women to meet their practical needs, giving men a sense of purpose as a provider, and allowing women to fulfil their traditional roles as wife and mother. CTs led...
Intra-Household Dynamics and the Design of Social Protection Programs: The Case of Polygamous Households in North Burkina Faso
Case Study
A recent overview of World Bank social safety net programs and gender highlighted the need for greater consideration of intra-household dynamics in the design of social protection programs (Bardasi 2014). During program design, decisions have to be made about who to target, how much and how often to give...
Gender impact assessment of cash transfers support to vulnerable households in Sierra Leone
Report
This report outlines the findings and recommendations from a qualitative assessment carried out to complement and further develop the findings from a recently concluded quantitative study of SNAP+ in order to better understand the driving factors behind behavior during the Ebola crises. The quantitative...
Gender and Markets in West Africa – Secondary Data Review
Report
The secondary information and data review presented here covers all gender and markets assessments conducted by WFP in West Africa, and market assessments conducted by key partners in the region over the past 5 years. The quality of the compiled assessments is reviewed to identify data and information...
Can E-transfers Promote Financial Inclusion in Emergencies: A Case Study from Bangladesh
Report
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) launched research to build an evidence base around connecting emergency electronic transfer (e-transfer) recipients with additional financial services. They wanted to learn if, when, and how e-transfers can promote sustained uptake and use...
Evaluation of the Kenya Hunger Safety Net Programme Phase 2
Report
The report summaries key findings from Hunger Safety Net Programme Phase 2 Qualitative impact study conducted in August 2016. The report integrates interesting infographics that depict the findings in an easy to read and understand format
Why not cash? The case for cash transfers for refugees in Mozambique
Report
There are two areas where cash transfers could play a role in humanitarian assistance in Mozambique: in response to natural disasters and in support of the long-term refugee population. This working paper focuses on refugees. Why not cash? The case for cash transfers for refugees in Mozambique is one of a...
Baseline Assessment for Education Cash Transfer Programming for IDPS in Dahuk Governance
Report
REACH, in collaboration with UNICEF, conducted a Baseline Assessment of Access to Education among Internally Displaced Persons in the Dahuk Governorate of Iraq. This assessment aimed to improve the efficiency of humanitarian cash assistance by implementing partners for increased access to education in the...
Cash/Food. A Comparative analysis of the effectiveness of food assistance modalities in refugee settlements
Report
A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of food and cash assistance modalities for household food security in refugee settlements
Cash or Food A Comparative analysis of the effectiveness of food assistance modalities in refugee settlements
Report
A comparative analysis on the effective of food and cash transfer modalities for household food security in refugee settlements in Uganda.
The Mam’out Project: Seasonal Multiannual Cash Transfers for the Prevention of Acute Malnutrition in Tapoa
Report
In response to alarming rates of acute malnutrition, Action Against Hunger (ACF) initiated a project to strengthen and evaluate the prevention of acute malnutrition of children younger than 36 months in the Tapoa province, Burkina Faso. Using seasonal and multiannual unconditional cash transfers, ACF’s...
Using Cash for Shelter: An Overview of CRS Programs
Report
Cash continues to gain prevalence as a modality for humanitarian agencies to help people meet multiple and diverse needs in the wake of a crisis. It provides people with the dignity of choice, and is often significantly more cost-efficient than the delivery of in-kind aid. In programs with a shelter...