Rapid Reflection on Cash Coordination for the Ukraine Response - Ukraine briefing [English]

Since February 2022, Ukraine and the neighbouring countries are facing a humanitarian crisis of unparalleled scale, ranking among the fastest-growing crises observed in the past decade and the largest in Europe since the end of World War II. By April 2022, more than 30 percent of Ukraine’s population had been coercively displaced and by October 2023, 6,240,400 Ukrainian were refugees and 3,674,000 internally displaced.

In light of needs, vulnerabilities and capacities, cash transfers have been prioritized by the humanitarian community in Ukraine as the preferred and default modality wherever feasible to respond to the needs of people affected by the crisis. This led to the fastest and largest cash programming scale-up in history, shedding further light on the importance of quality cash coordination.

Using the Global Cash Advisory Group (CAG) key performance indicators for cash coordination as a guide, this paper reflects on the extent to which cash coordination was (1) timely and effective and (2) inclusive, transparent, and accountable. It draws from 28 semi-structured key informants’ interviews, desk review of available literature and a round table organised on 11 December 2023 with key cash stakeholders.