Cash and Voucher Assistance for Achieving Protection Outcomes in Mine Action: Evidence Mapping and Recommendations for Future Action

Despite growing evidence that Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) can be a useful tool, where appropriate, to enhance the protection and resilience of individuals, households, and communities affected by crisis, Cash and Voucher Assistance is not widely used within Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA). This study investigates the use of Cash and Voucher Assistance in Humanitarian Mine Action and presents emerging and promising practices which use Cash and Voucher Assistance to support vulnerable individuals, groups, and communities for protection outcomes in Mine Action.

HMA agencies often focus on two of the pillars of mine action, namely:

• Land Release – the survey and clearance of land contaminated by Explosive Ordnance (EO)
• Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE)

The new International Mine Action Standard (IMAS) 13.101 on Victim Assistance encourages HMA agencies to ensure that EO survivors are informed of the services they need and have access to them and it clarifies the expectation that HMA agencies should support EO survivors if the state is unable to meet its responsibilities. CVA could be a useful tool enabling HMA agencies or their partners to bridge any gap between service availability and service access.

CVA can be a promising component of victim assistance during an EO survivor’s treatment and recovery such as to cover transportation costs to nearby health facilities, costs of treatment, corrective support, to support restarting livelihoods, such as replacing livelihood assets, as well as business training, and fees for school-age EO survivors’ school enrolment and more.