UnBlocked Cash in Numbers — report from Vanuatu response for February 2021
The humanitarian response in Vanuatu continues and has expanded to a third national province, Shefa. The additional funding from donors will extend the digital cash assistance program through August 2021.
The UnBlocked Cash project continues to scale as the response in Vanuatu extends to a third and last province targeted by this response program, with close to 800 new beneficiaries and 70 new vendors registered in Shefa in February. This brings the number of participating households to 4071, which means that the total population reached is 20,335 people (the average household size is 5 persons). The total value of cash distributed surpassed 145M Vatu (or ca. 1,33M USD) with the spending level at the same 86% level as in previous months. Spending patterns remain the same, with a slight increase (from 12% to 14%) in hardware purchases, which might be a result of the damages caused by heavy rains in Tafea in late February. The registrations in Shefa continued in early March when the program is expected to register the entire targeted population.
Geographical criteria
This response program led by Oxfam is based on geographical and vulnerability criteria. Back in 2018, in peace times, Oxfam conducted a comprehensive feasibility study to determine which provinces and area councils would be most feasible to receive cash and voucher assistance (CVA), where there is a market capacity, access to infrastructure, and the acceptance for such mode of assistance. Those surveys, reaching every area council in the country have identified that CVA would be most feasible in the 3 out of a total of 6 provinces: Sanma, Tafea, and Shefa. That became the basis for the geographic scope of the current response.
Vulnerability criteria
In June 2020, Oxfam in Vanuatu has conducted the Vulnerable Livelihoods and Income Impact surveys, which sought to establish which areas in the 3 provinces and which parts of society were impacted most by the double impact of Covid-19 and Tropical Cyclone Harold. These have established the target beneficiary groups at the national and local levels.
In Shefa, the most vulnerable populations identified were people with disabilities and their families. The consortium of partners, led by Oxfam, has jointly decided that this group should be the only targeted group of beneficiaries in Shefa. This is reflected in the sharp increase in the proportion of that group among all beneficiaries registered in the program, which now represent 49% of all.
Assistance extended
The program has gained significant support from its donors, the Australian Aid (DFAT) and the Australian Humanitarian Partnership, who committed additional funding that will extend the response program until August 2021.
Overall, all beneficiaries assisted by means of the UnBlocked Cash project, will receive its digital cash assistance for a total period of 5 to 6 months. The longer duration of assistance is expected to exponentially increase the positive economic impact of the program on livelihoods and disaster preparedness.
