Onward Bound: Evaluating Cash and Voucher Assistance for Migrants on Sahel’s Migration Trail – Research and learnings from the Sahel region

This research – a collaboration between the British Red Cross and Samuel Hall – provides evidence on the opportunities and challenges to integrate cash and vouchers assistance (CVA) as a support modality in migration programming in the context of transit migration in the Sahel. While CVA has become increasingly common and popular among implementing agencies and donors, there is limited evidence about its effects and impact in migration programming and even less in transit migration contexts.

As a result, this study addresses a gap and analyses to what extent, and through which modality, the use of CVA might support safe transit and onward migration. This research looked at the range of current programming from the perspective of both practitioners and transit migrants in the Sahel, as well as the impact of such assistance on migration decisions and experiences. Based on the data collected, the research drew lessons from current experiences, both theoretical and practice-based, and generated recommendations to inform British Red Cross policy and programming and its approach to cash transfers for migrant populations.