Cash and Voucher Program Guidance and Standards - PowerPoint Presentation

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Cash and Voucher Program Guidance and Standards

Informal Cash & Voucher Working Group

TC Winston Response

Program Types (in use in TC Winston)

Cash for Work (multiple clusters)

Cash for Food (includes food vouchers)

Cash for

Shelter*

(includes vouchers and catalogues

)

* Note: Cash for Shelter guidance is currently being revised to align with the Fijian Government’s Help for Homes initiative. The revised guidance will be added once complete

Cash for Work – General Guidance

Cash for work programs are used across a number of clusters. Sector-specific programs will have a specific work focus and objectives, however general guidance and standards can be applied to all cash for work programs.

Objectives:

Cash-for-work and emergency employment are designed as short-term activities designed to give communities access to cash income while encouraging participation in community rehabilitation efforts.

Activities should not replace traditional systems of social support and community rehabilitation.

Cash for Work activities will involve men and women.

Consultation should always include women and men, and cover risks, appropriateness and accessibility of Cash for Work

interventions.

Cash

For Work: Minimum Guidelines

Category

Guidance

Detailed Recommendations

Wages and Payments

$20 FJD/day

$10 FJD/half-day

Note that these are not

wage rates but cash

allowances paid for cash-for-work activities. All partners are recommended to adhere to these rates. Rates are based on in-country experience from ILO and UNDP.

Minimum wage rate:

$2.32 FJD per hour

This is a reference only.

Recommendation is to use to above cash allowance rates. Basic guidance from CFW in Fiji and the Pacific region is to use a cash allowance slightly above the minimum wage rate.

Timeframe

Not

more than 1 month per worker

Cash

for work activities are intended as a short-term intervention.

Working Hours

Maximum working

hours: 8 hours

Typically, and based on the task required, CFW activities range from

4-8 hours. Partners should not exceed 8 hours/day for any individual worker and break times should be included.

Community

Consultation

Consultation with community must take place and endorsement

sought for CFW activities prior to program initiation

Other modalities should be considered and discussed as options

While cash for work has been

successfully implemented in Fiji, s

ome communities and

local governments have expressed a clear preference not to use CFW modality as it may disrupt existing community mechanisms.

Alternative support options should be considered and may include providing equipment and training to community volunteers.

Coordination

Local government duly informed when planning

Recommended to include local government officials

in areas selected, activity selection and beneficiary selection

Safety

Regulations

Safety

briefings or training are recommended before beginning all CFW activities. Adequate headwear, footwear and first aid kits are strongly recommended

Partners

are required to ensure that safety guidelines are in place and safety procedures communicated to all workers prior to starting activities. If safety gear is not available it should be provided by the implementing agency.

Ethical Requirements

All organisations and workers must comply with the Code of Conduct endorsed by the Fijian Government and general high standards of behaviour

Information about

Code of Conduct, and requirement to prevent the sexual exploitation and abuse, should be reinforced.

Cash

For Work: Minimum Guidelines

Category

Guidance

Detailed Recommendations

Gender Equality

Understand the differing risks for men and women, and mitigate them as appropriate.

Actively

promote gender equality and women’s empowerment though inclusion

in CFW programs

Participation

rates for women and men should be actively monitored, and investigated further where unequal participation is noted

All CFW interventions should aim to assess any risks to women’s, men’s and children’s safety and protection. Women, including female youth, should be given equal opportunities to access CFW interventions.

Evidence shows women

face increased workloads post-TC Winston and may have less time to engage in CFW. Community consultation and program design should specifically address these issues and identify appropriate options for women’s participation.

When possible, ensure there are supervised child care arrangements in place to facilitate easier ability for caregivers to work.

Inclusion

Light activity

or administrative tasks should be planned to accommodate the needs of vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities, pregnant and lactating women, and older persons.

Partners

should consider, plan and integrate these types of activities during the planning phase. Inclusion of all community members, especially the most vulnerable, is recommended to maximize impact.

Where appropriate activities cannot be identified, consideration should be given to unconditional cash assistance for vulnerable community members.

Worker age

requirements

Minimum

age for CFW programs: 18 years

Though the minimum age for work in Fiji is 16 years, humanitarian CFW programs should

not engage children (under 18 years)

Child Headed Households

Where

child-headed households exist, alternative cash support options should be considered, in conjunction with additional assistance and referral to child protection mechanisms

Child

-headed households are not common in Fiji and are considered unlikely to be encountered in areas where CFW programs operate.

Where child-headed households are found, they should not

be excluded from cash assistance programs, however CFW is not recommended.

Consideration should be given to providing unconditional cash assistance with ongoing monitoring/support and financial literacy training. Inclusion should be based on an assessment of risk and guided by the do no harm principle.

Linkage with child protection mechanisms/programs should be ensured.

Cash for Food – General Guidance

The average daily energy intake for an adult Fijian is more than one and a half times the FAO recommended daily nutrient requirement of 2,228 kcal/person/day (2009). Estimates of total average energy intake in Fiji ranges between 3411 – 3700 kcal/day (66% higher than recommended average daily intake)

Over 60% of daily consumption is derived from imported goods, which significantly increases the total cost of a monthly food basket for a household of 4.

Implications for food basket calculations – would require a 50-60% increase in cost from the minimum recommended nutritious food basket

WFP has developed a sliding scale of food baskets and associated transfer values for cash for food programming, which has been adopted by the Cash & Voucher WG

The agreed standard for cash for food ration for the TC Winston response is the Recommended Minimum Nutrition Ration

Households receiving emergency rations (

ie

of lesser values) should not be considered as having received the minimum food ration and as such should not be excluded from further assistance

Cash for food assistance will largely be conducted through the use of food vouchers. Hard cash or cash transfers may also be considered, however partners are encouraged to consider market implications and consult the Cash and Voucher Working Group before initiating medium-large scale interventions.

NDMO

Emergency Food Pack

Emergency

Ration (other)

Recommended

Minimum Nutritious Ration

Full

Recommended Nutritious Ration

Average Household Consumption (Fiji)

Approx. Cost

$40$180-195$200 - $250 $380 – $410 $500 + Implementation context Supplementary food rations delivered post-crisis – designed to meet partial consumption needs for 1-2 weeks. Must be complimented by other foods or interventionsEmergency food rations delivered post-crisis – designed to meet food consumption needs for 1 month, may be complimented with other foods based on contextFood rations provided 1+ month following a crisis to populations with no regular income and/or facing food gaps Recommended daily consumption in non-crisis contextsRegular diet and consumption habits (non-crisis), includes fresh foods (3411 – 3700 kcal/day)Timeframe & HH size1-2 weeks, 4 pp/household1 month, 4 pp/household1 month, 4 pp/household1 month, 4 pp/household1 month, 4 pp/householdSource (food basket)NDMO/ADRAWFP/NutVal/PGMWFP/NutValWFP/NutValHIES 2013-2014, FAO (2007, 2004)Source: Food PricingMH Supermarkets, Fixed Commodity Price list for MWCPA Food Voucher Programme

Food Ration – Cash Transfer Value Scale

Minimum-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Maximum