Uganda currently hosts about 1.2 million refugees spread across twelve settlements in the country with at least 60% of the caseload settled in the West Nile region of the country and having South Sudanese origin. The rest of the refugees come from Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, DRC and other countries. Most of the refugees particularly from South Sudan are new arrivals. The influxes particularly from South Sudan, Burundi and DRC over the past 3 years currently renders Uganda the biggest host for refugees in Africa. In order to efficiently offer adequate aid to these refugees, more and more humanitarian organizations and international non-governmental organizations have decided to convert in-kind support to cash-based transfers. These transfers are provided to people with special needs, such as pregnant women and the elderly, or to refugees taking part in 'cash for work' programmes (e.g., constructing community rubbish pits, building access roads, working on farms or planting trees). A total of 254 households were identified basing on the following criteria (stratified random sampling); (i) Parents/primary care-givers of children with severe mental disabilities, (ii) Parents/primary care-givers of children with special education needs enrolled in school, (iii) Family head with disability who is the primary care-giver of an orphaned child, (iv) Single-heads of household who are care-givers for children with specific needs, (v) Elderly women/men (above 60 years) who are primary caregivers of children with specific needs, (vi) Care-giver of persons with serious medical conditions.

UNHCR conducts post-distribution monitoring (PDM) on a regular basis for assistance activities in order to deepen its understanding of the impact these activities have on the persons the organization assists and provides protection to. In Ukraine, UNHCR provides individual protection assistance in the following regions: Kyiv, Odesa, Zakarpattya (also covers Lviv) and Kharkiv regions. The UNHCR Cash-Based Interventions (CBI) support only vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers. The type of assistance vary depending on the needs and vulnerability of persons of concern. the following types of CBI assistance that were provided to refugees and asylum-seekers by UNHCR and its Partners in Ukraine in 2020: 1. Supplementary assistance and newcomers assistance - Modality: voucher (Metro cards, a supermarket chain that partners with UNHCR) - Available only in Kyiv and Odesa - Description: Distribution of vouchers (Metro cards) for food and non-food items to refugees and asylum-seekers who meet established vulnerability criteria (newcomers, PoCs in need of supplementary food or hygiene due to medical condition). In 2020, 121 families residing in Kyiv and Odesa received voucher assistance at least once. In 2020 UNHCR used Metro Cash&Carry (big supermarket chain) cards in the value of 500 UAH. However, due to COVID-19 quarantine restrictions imposed by the government of Ukraine, UNHCR Ukraine has gradually shifted to provision of these types of assistance through other modalities. This PDM focused only on the cases processed through vouchers. MSA (Monthly Subsistence Allowance) Modality: cash. OTC (over the counter) Available in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv Description: MSA (monthly subsistence allowance) aims to support the most vulnerable persons of concern. It is given based on the strict vulnerability criteria and cases are reviewed every four months at the MSA committee meetings, composed of partner social counselors, SMS and UNHCR. In 2020, 105 vulnerable families were covered by this type of support. The amount of MSA is calculated based on the family size. It is in line with the recommendations of the Cash Working Group on assistance provision at 60% of subsistence level (3 774.62 UAH as of February 2020), which corresponds to MSA amount. Assistance per single person provided by UNHCR amounted to 2 400 UAH per month, proportionally increased depending on the number of household members.

These data were produced from a household survey that was part of the post-distribtion monitoring exercise for a cash-based intervention (CBI) in Dzaleka Refugee Camp, Dowa district of Malawi. The CBI was intended to provide consumption support to extremely poor households who graduated from the livelihoods programme. A cohort graduates from the programme after 18 months of active participation. Participants are selected from extremely poor households who live below the poverty line and often times engaged in negative coping mechanisms to meet their basic needs. The consumption support is meant as a cushion for their basic needs as they continue participating in various livelihoods activities. Consumption support has a time frame of 12 months for each participating cohort. The target groups involve persons of concern (POCs) and host communities. After 12 months, it is assumed that participants have started generating enough income to cushion for their basic needs including further investments through diversification into additional livelihoods activities. Out of the 449 households that received the CBI, 264 were randomly sampled for this post-distrubtion monitoring exercise. The total population in Dzaleka camp is 48,557.

This Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) was initiated by UNHCR’s Sub-Office in Cox’s Bazar to monitor its distribution of cash to refugees as part of a pilot cash programme, as well as to collect the feedback of refugees on the cash distribution itself. It was designed with built-in COVID-19 prevention measures. UNHCR uses Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM) as a mechanism to collect refugees' feedback on the quality, sufficiency, utilization and effectiveness of the assistance items they receive. The underlying principle behind the process is linked to accountability, as well as a commitment to improve the quality and relevance of support provided, and related services. Usually the surveys that form the basis of the assessment are conducted soon after the distribution of relief items is completed.

The Rohingya refugee population living in settlements in Cox’s Bazar is dependent on international assistance. Presently, there are limits on how self-sufficient refugees can be, as they have restricted freedom of movement beyond the areas where the settlements are and also have no right to work. In addition, there is insufficient land within their settlements to support subsistence farming. As a result, many refugees are unable to access cash independently to support themselves, and many struggle for the basic necessities not already covered by humanitarian assistance. All current assistance in the form of in-kind distributions and services are free of charge. This includes, for example, food, shelter materials, household items and health services. A number of cash-for-work schemes were designed to support and manage some of the basic services and works in the camps; however, to date, they have not created sufficient income opportunities for refugees or host communities. Likewise, our teams have confirmed that some humanitarian aid items are being sold at local markets. This shows refugees are adopting other, and potentially harmful, coping mechanisms to generate cash for their needs that are not, or not fully, covered by current humanitarian assistance. Negative coping strategies such as food borrowing, reduction in the number of meals and reduced consumption of preferred foods are witnessed across the entire Rohingya refugee population. Between April and May 2018, UNHCR piloted the delivery of unconditional and unrestricted Multipurpose Cash Grants (MPGs) to cover unmet basic needs. This extended to all residents of Camp 5 and Camp 6 in the Kutupalong refugee settlement and was equivalent to approximately half of the monthly Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) for a family of five. After completing the delivery of the grants, UNHCR conducted a detailed Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) survey (320 households were interviewed). A Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) survey is a mechanism to collect and understand refugees’ feedback on the assistance provided by humanitarian agencies like UNHCR. PDMs are widely used by UNHCR and help to evaluate the effectiveness of the assistance provided directly by UNHCR or through its partners. A PDM is conducted independently from the distribution exercise itself, but closely following it in time. This PDM was intended to evaluate the adequacy of the cash grant provided as well as patterns in its use. It also sought to identify challenges and constraints experienced, and seek refugees’ feedback on any improvements required to implement similar assistance again in the future. The PDM supports a hypothesis that the current basic in-kind assistance packages provided to refugees are not sufficient to meet all demonstrated needs, with the result that potentially harmful coping mechanisms like selling assistance are employed. The adoption of this cash programme by UNHCR, therefore, seeks to ensure that refugees can address their multiple needs in accordance with their household and personal priorities, including benefits such as greater access to a more diversified diet, better hygiene or shelter improvements.