Cash & Vouchers Assistance (CVA) has increasingly become a preferred option in humanitarian response in Viet Nam. Various stakeholders including UNDP, FAO, IOM, UN Women, IFRC, Viet Nam Red Cross (VNRC), Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and Save the Children have addressed needs of disaster affected people through CVA.  In 2017 alone, most of the funding from UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) was allocated to CVA interventions.

There are different approaches to CVA in terms of transfer values and targeting processes. Being cognizant of global and local trends towards coherent and coordinated approaches toward CVA to optimize resources, the in-country Cash Working Group (CWG) was created. The group aims to organise a platform of stakeholders engaged in CVA to exchange experiences and knowledge, communicate best practices and lesson learned on CVA, as well as to seek harmonization of CVA approaches both in terms of process and transfer value. To achieve this, apart from regular coordination meetings, the CWG proposes capacity building for its members, particularly on market assessments and calculation of transfer values.

To carry it forward, IFRC/VNRC and FAO jointly organized the Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB) Workshop in Hanoi between 24 and 26 April with 17 participants (10 female) from VNRC, Swiss Red Cross, UNDP, UNICEF, CRS, Care International, World Vision and Plan International. The Regional cash working group (IFRC and CaLP) provided technical support. The workshop provided common understanding on MEB and transfer value calculation following disaster and crisis. The next steps will be the consultation with cluster specialists to finalize the MEB (e.g. shelter, WASH and food security) so that it has the input from the different sectors. This workshop, coupled with field work, is expected to harmonize the calculation of transfer values in humanitarian programmes and to harmonize the methodology and amounts actually delivered to beneficiaries. The workshop objectives are i) to enhance capacity on market assessment for CWG members and ii) o propose MEB which is mutually agreed among stakeholders within the CWG.