Cash and voucher assistance
Cash and voucher assistance (CVA), also known as cash transfer programming (CTP) and cash based assistance (CBA), may be one of the oldest examples of how people help their fellow human beings in crisis, but of late has been reborn in terms of its significance to humanitarian response. Evidence has shown that in the right circumstances, giving people cash is a superior and less expensive way to meet their needs. This rapidly developing sector faces a number of challenges, such as the technical aspects of ensuring a safe transfer, the need to better understand the conditions under which CVA will be effective, and what CVA might look like within thematic areas (e.g., health, shelter). CVAis also seen as a 'disruptor' within the humanitarian system, eliminating the massive staff and logistics assets needed to deliver assistance and placing direct power in the hands of people affected by crisis.