Distribution of cash instead of commodities is transforming humanitarian action. Cash distribution has grown quickly in past years and today represents roughly 20% of assistance is given.

Cash gives crisis affected populations choices and agency but it also places the sector based humanitarian architecture under stress. There is clearly a need to review the current coordination arrangements for cash assistance, but this has profound implications for the most powerful agencies in the sector.

To get things moving 95 organisations have sent a letter to the outgoing and the incoming Emergency Relief Coordinator to move the issue of cash coordination forward. You can find the letter here: https://www.calpnetwork.org/news/95-organisations-sign-letter-calling-for-strengthened-cash-coordination/

On this episode Lars Peter Nissen invites four guests to discuss why cash coordination is so difficult and what to do about it. The guests are:

Sophie Tholstrup, Head of Technology for Development Policy Unit at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-tholstrup-93222311)

Patrick Saez, Center for Global Development. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-saez-143b3b9/

Edward (Ed) Fraser, Global Economic Recovery Adviser - Cash & Voucher Assistance Lead at Danish Refugee Council / Dansk Flygtningehjælp. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-fraser-6055aa1/

Isabelle Pelly, Global Thematic Expert - Cash and Basic Needs at DG European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office - ECHO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-pelly-29a82244/

You can find the State of the World Cash report here: https://www.calpnetwork.org/state-of-the-worlds-cash-2020/

Patrick Saez research paper "Inclusive Coordination: Building an Area-Based Humanitarian Coordination Model" is available at this address: https://www.cgdev.org/publication/inclusive-coordination-building-area-based-humanitarian-coordination-model