REPORT ON
SHARING LESSONS LEARNT
WORKSHOP
CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMMING IN AFGHANISTAN
23rd-24th of June 2013
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Funded by European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) - Emergency Response Mechanism (ERM II)
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Acknowledgements
Oxfam Great Britain (Oxfam GB) in Afghanistan is serving as a consulting partner for the
Coordinating Cash Based Transfer Mechanisms project under the Emergency Response Mechanism
(ERM II), with support provided by ECHO and in partnership with Action Contre La Faim (ACF). Oxfam
GB wishes to thank the organisations that prepared and made presentations for this event, including
the Emergency Response Mechanism consortium members - Solidarites International, ACF, ACTED,
Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs & Disabled (MoLSAMD) and Norwegian Refugee Council
(NRC). We would also like to thank the individuals and representatives of organisations that
participated and contributed in the lessons learnt workshop.
Photo Credit Cover Page: Partners in Revitalisation and Building
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Acronyms
ACF Action Contre La Faim
AOGs Armed Opposition Groups
CBA Community Based Approach
CBP Cash Based Program
CDC Community Development Committee
CfW Cash for Work
CTP Cash Transfer Program
ECHO European Commission and Civil Protection
ERM Emergency Response Mechanism
FSAC Food Security and Agriculture Cluster
GoA Government of Afghanistan
INGO International Non Governmental Organisation
DFID Department for International Development
NFI Non Food Items
NGO Non Governmental Organisation
NRC Norwegian Refugee Council
MoLSAMD Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs & Disabled
M-PAISA Mobile Money
UN United Nations
UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
VSC Village Selection Committee
VVC Village Verification Committee
WFP World Food Program
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report is a summary of the lessons learnt workshop on cash based interventions by
humanitarian agencies in Afghanistan. Eleven non-governmental organisations, three United Nations
(UN) agencies and one Afghan government ministry participated in the workshop and shared lessons
they have documented during the past few years. The objective of this two-day workshop included a
platform where delegates from the community of practice in Afghanistan interacted and shared
lessons they have learned in designing, implementing and monitoring CTPs in Afghanistan. This
event included twenty-two participants that shared their experiences and agreed that CTPs can be
successfully implemented in Afghanistan, despite the insecure and conflict sensitive environment.
In this report, at least two key discussion points are highlighted:
Targeting, designing and choosing the best type and modality of Cash Transfer programme;
and
Choosing the most secure payment mechanism.
The report notes a critical fact that each modality and delivery mechanism has its own challenges. As
the context differs from region to region in Afghanistan, one modality, or delivery mechanism, cannot
be advised as a proper cash transfer mechanism for the entire country.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 1
Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................ 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................... 4
INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE LESSONS LEARNT WORKSHOP ....................... 5
How to Institutionalize Lesson Learning ......................................................................................... 6
THE CASH TRANSFER IMPLEMENTATION PROCESSES: LESSONS LEARNT IN AFGHANISTAN ................. 6
i. Factors to Consider on the Appropriateness of a Cash Transfer Programme: ........................ 6
ii. Identification and Targeting: .................................................................................................. 7
Targeting: Selection of Cash Transfer Beneficiaries in Conflict Sensitive Environments ................. 7
iii. Selection of the Most Appropriate Type of Cash Transfers: .................................................... 9
iv. Payment Mechanisms in Afghanistan: Ensuring Secure Payments ...................................... 10
v. Monitoring: Reflections on Post-Distribution Monitoring Results ........................................ 10
GROUP WORK: ...................................................................................................................................... 11
Is Cash Intervention Appropriate only to Food Insecurity Response? ................................................. 12
Challenges and Concerns ...................................................................................................................... 13
PLENARY SESSIONS – QUESTION AND ANSWER ................................................................................... 15
CASE STUDY GUIDELINES INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 15
RECOMMENDATIONS OF AND TO THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE IN AFGHANISTAN ........................ 18
1) On Cash Transfer Programming: ............................................................................................... 18
2) On Similar Future Events: ......................................................................................................... 18
ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................... 19
Annex 1: Lessons Learnt Workshop Agenda ..................................................................................... 19
Annex 2: Sharing Lessons Learnt Participants List ............................................................................ 22
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INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE LESSONS LEARNT
WORKSHOP
With support from ECHO and through partnership with ACF, Oxfam GB is supporting the
coordination mechanism of cash based interventions across the community of practice in
Afghanistan. According to the 3Ws mapping shared by the FAO-led FSAC, cash programming
interventions are increasingly being utilised in Afghanistan, with the current number of NGOs
implementing cash projects recorded at sixteen. Cash support has been targeted at achieving food
security, but during the past three years, there has been a marked increase of cash and voucher
utilization in other sectors such as shelter, nutrition, WASH, education, protection and health. This
diversity of cash programming has resulted in a number of new innovative ways of delivering cash to
vulnerable households in Afghanistan. Although most NGOs are still using direct cash distributions,
various stakeholders seem to be cautious of the challenges posed by such practices over time. Some
NGOs and UN agencies within the community of practice have piloted the use of mobile phones and
commodity vouchers. Based on the increase of cash programming efforts in country, lessons learnt
workshop allowed practitioners to share their experiences with conditional and unconditional cash
and voucher mechanisms in Afghanistan.
The lessons learnt workshop, held on the 23rd and 24th of June 2013 in Kabul, Afghanistan, is part of
this coordination process to share experiences with various cash distribution modalities. The event
aimed to facilitate a platform where organisations interacted and discussed how to improve
preparedness and strengthen design and implementation processes. The learning focused on
practical experiences from previous and current projects to feed into future interventions.
During this two-day workshop, participants interacted and shared lessons that they have
documented in their various CBPs within a conflict sensitive environment. The emphasis on lessons
that participants have learned included targeting, assessment, designing, response analysis,
selection of the best type of cash transfer modality(s), security and the implementation of CBPs in
NFI programs. The participants also engaged in discussions on the challenges that have been
experienced in implementing CBPs in Afghanistan. The workshop planners organized the session
around a central principle of integrating lessons and ideas from various organizations. The plenary,
thematic area discussions, group work and question and answer sessions cr
