CaLP Case Study: Shop vouchers for hygiene kits in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Oxfam has been working in Haiti since 1978, with
both permanent programmes and humanitarian aid. In
response to the 2010 earthquake, Oxfam International
decided to focus on water and sanitation, shelter,
food security, livelihoods and the provision of Non-
Food items (NFIs) in the metropolitan area and some
affected areas outside Port au Prince. The voucher
programme was part of the second phase of the
response, with preparations beginning in late June
2010 and implementation taking place in September -
October.
The objective of the programme was to improve
health conditions in the area of Carrefour Feuilles
by facilitating access to hygiene kits for vulnerable
families. Beneficiaries were selected from an existing
canteen project which was providing daily hot meals
to displaced families. In order to deal with the massive
challenge and security risks of ‘classical’ in-kind
distributions in an urban context, Oxfam decided to
pilot a voucher programme for beneficiaries to access
hygiene items through local shops.