A Protection Perspective on Cash and Nutrition

Cash based programming has become part of Action Against Hunger’s strategic approach to achieving our nutrition security mandate. Increasingly development and humanitarian actors are examining the impact of cash transfers on health and nutrition objectives. Several nuanced but generally positive results have been observed in this area, especially from conditional cash transfers.

While cash transfers have demonstrated benefits as a flexible form of social assistance, certain risks are frequently associated with these programmes. As humanitarians we are obliged to learn how to prevent, monitor, and address negative and unintended consequences within cash transfer programmes (CTPs).

Action Against Hunger has gained critical insight on this topic from current and previous CTPs. With a view towards greater programme quality and accountability, this article proposes that a protection perspective must be rigorously applied in the design, targeting, delivery, and monitoring and evaluation of Action Against Hunger’s cash based programming.

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