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UKRAINE: Cash assistance post-distribution monitoring (2014-2015)

Title
UKRAINE: Cash assistance post-distribution monitoring (2014-2015)
Publisher
Anonymous (not verified)
Date
Type
Case study
Source
Shelter Cluster
Response
Language
English
Tags
Cash and Vouchers
Description

This report was commissioned to examine the effectiveness of the first cycle of cash assistance provided to Internally Displaced People in Ukraine by five Shelter Cluster partners between the end of November 2014 and the end of March 2015.The research draws attention to the fact that during the reporting period, 5.2 per cent of displaced families were assisted through cash assistance provided by the humanitarian community, representing 46,000 beneficiaries. Differing implementation practice by the five Cluster partners is identified as a problem for redress. This resulted in different Post-Distribution Monitoring data collection requirements from agency to agency, making direct comparisons and overall conclusions difficult to ascertain. Nonetheless, some important trends and patterns can be identified.It was found that IDPs often have multiple sources of income, including salaries, social assistance, pensions and other non-government related assistance meaning that financial dependence is spread. Of the IDPs who received cash assistance, the main expense for which the money was used was rent and payment of utilities. Rent and utilities were also considered the top priorities. Clothing ranked highly on the list of priorities, due to the coverage occurring during winter months. Food generally ranked first amongst secondary priorities. The level of expenditure of grants by IDPs offers an interesting insight into the feeling of financial security amongst IDPs, between those who had or intend to fully spend their cash grant (78 per cent of ADRA beneficiaries in the Kyiv region) and those who sought to save their grant (5 per cent).ADRA also provided assistance in the form of vouchers which permitted detailed information on beneficiary purchasing patterns, the majority of purchases being hygiene items and kitchen items.ADRA, IOM and People in Need also looked at future plans among IDPs assisted. All three agencies reported that the vast majority of beneficiaries surveyed intend to remain where they are, indicating a need to find long-term solutions. It is recommended:that in the future cash distribution agencies agree and adopt the same methodological approach to cash assistance distribution;that a standard PDM questionnaire is adopted to allow for comparative analysis peer review to identify best practice and lessons learnt.