A review of evidence of humanitarian cash transfer programming in urban areas

The review highlights aspects of urban environments and vulnerability that can present barriers to effective implementation of CTP that must be taken into account during CTP design. However, the diversity of population groups, needs and vulnerabilities in urban areas make cash assistance an effective response modality for urban emergencies and certain characteristics of urban areas create an enabling environment for CTP, offering some opportunities to ‘do things differently’. Whilst response analysis is crucial to programme design, evidence suggests that cash can and should be considered as the first modality of choice to transfer resources to disaster-affected populations in urban emergencies, whether for rapid onset, slow onset or protracted crises. Cash transfer programming can enable beneficiaries to meet a diverse array of recurring needs across a variety of sectors whilst contributing to market recovery. Cash assistance will have value as a standalone humanitarian response tool, but when considering the complexity of needs is also relevant in other forms of assistance such as mixed modality interventions. The review provides a set of recommendations for policymakers and practitioners to take forward urban CTP.

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