How an E-voucher helps Angella feed her family in Bangui
Cash transfers advance support people affected by post electoral violence in the Central African Republic (CAR)
By Amaya AMIGO
In the north of Bangui within the 8th district, people sit under a tent covering set up to shield them away from the blazing sun shining in the capital of CAR as they wait to receive food assistance.
Nearly half of the country’s population — 47 percent — suffers from high and surging acute food insecurity due to the impacts of ongoing protracted conflict and COVID-19.
Angella Lha, a 32-year-old seamstress is among those at the site. She lost her husband during violent clashes outside Bangui three years ago. Her sewing business has been on standstill as fabric is blocked along the main supply route from Cameroon to the CAR due to a spike in violence after a presidential poll in December 2020. Rebels cut off the road from the border with Cameroon to Bangui, blocking hundreds of trucks transporting goods and humanitarian assistance.
“I used to make at least four clothes per week for my clients but now I can barely produce two,” says the mother of five children. The loss of income source has left her struggling to feed her family. She is now among those needing food assistance provided by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) with support from US bureau for humanitarian assistance (BHA).
On this hot day, instead of food items, Angella and the other people supported by WFP in the district will receive E-vouchers. This works like a supermarket debit card allowing them to purchase predetermined food from stores (including cereals, vegetable oil, salt, and sugar).
Angella squints her eyes to avoid the sun beaming through the tent, as she attentively listens to the E-voucher instructions. Sweat glistens on her forehead, and a man sitting next to her uses his hat to fan his face.
Impatient and on the edge of her seat, Angella wears one of her own pieces of clothing she sewed herself. Her body shifts and she taps her feet, as if ready to sit up the second she hears her name being called out on a loudspeaker. With her card in-hand, she set off to buy much needed food supplies foe her family.
“Today, I purchased cassava flour, peanuts, rice, oil, sugar and salt,” says Angella. Cassava is a prominent staple for families in CAR, as it contains a significant source of carbs and provides a small amount of fiber, vitamins and minerals. With what remains in her card she plans to buy more fresh produce the following week.
More than 2.2 million people — most of them living in rural areas — face severe levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or above and need urgent support to avert the loss of lives and livelihoods, finds the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis.
One third of the population (over 1.6 million people) are in a Crisis situation (IPC Phase 3) — meaning, they may skip meals entirely or sell what little they own to buy food; and, more than one tenth (over 630 000 people) are in an Emergency situation (IPC Phase 4) — meaning, they may sell their last animal or last source of livelihood, pull their children out of school, or resort to begging.
WFP provides food assistance to more 800,000 people through food or cash distribution. In 2020, WFP scaled up its cash-based transfer (CBT) programme through value vouchers to enable people it serves to have more flexibility and choice in what they consume. WFP reached more than 361,000 people through cash transfers worth US$15 million.
