An Introduction to Cash-Based Interventions in UNHCR Operations

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNH CR) has a long-standing history
of using cash-based interventions in the form of cash grants (financial assistance) and
vouchers, and is one of the pioneer agencies in this regard.
Cash-based interventions continue to play an important role in many UNH CR operations,
given the agency’s wide-ranging mandate for refugee1 protection, assistance and solutions,
and its lead responsibilities for protection, emergency shelter and camp coordination and
camp management under the cluster approach. The multi-sectoral nature of UNH CR’s
refugee mandate lends itself to the use of cash-based interventions as a cost-effective
tool to address multiple needs, both during displacement and upon return. UNH CR’s Age,
Gender and Diversity (AGD ) policy provides a framework for the development of a deeper
understanding of populations of concern, and hence the basis for a more precise and
effective use of cash as a protection tool.
Despite UNH CR’s extensive experience in the use of cash grants, cash-based interventions
nonetheless have untapped potential. Current operational trends have also triggered
renewed consideration of how UNH CR can best maximise the potential for using cash-based
interventions. A focus on seeking alternatives to camps, and the increasingly urban nature
of displacement crises, require new ways of reaching out to those in need of protection
and assistance. Cash-based interventions are an important tool in such settings, going
hand in hand with harnessing new technologies, fostering partnerships within and beyond
the humanitarian community, and tapping into existing systems to deliver assistance and
protection, including public-private partnerships and national social protection schemes.
In this context, it is timely to adopt a pro-active approach to the use and scaling-up of cashbased
interventions. All operations are encouraged to consider cash-based interventions in
their yearly programming cycle, starting with the assessment phase.
This document provides an introduction and basic guidance on the use of cash-based
interventions and tackles key issues of relevance to UNH CR in the form of questions
and answers. It also provides an overview of UNH CR’s experience in using cash-based
interventions. For more information and technical guidance, please contact the Public
Health and HIV Section, Division of Programme Management and Support (DPSM ) hqphn@
unhcr.org.
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