WFP Cash Brings Flexibility and Agility to Traditional Assistance
In the northwestern corner of Uganda in a refugee settlement called Lobule, Congolese refugee, Manasseh Budili, wakes up before dawn every day to tend to his farm. On this mildly sunny September day, he plants sweet potatoes while his wife, who is expecting their ninth child, heads to the nearby river to wash the family’s clothes. He draws the vines from a heap tucked away outside his house built with compressed earth and a grass roof. Manasseh bought the vines with money his family receives monthly from the World Food Programme (WFP).
They have also managed to rent a piece of land, situated a few kilometres away, to plant more crops including cassava, peanuts, potatoes and rice. The family also keeps four goats, three chickens and three pairs of pigeons. Three of their goats, they say, were bought with the money from WFP.
Money is ‘key to everything’
“Money is the key to everything,” says Marie. “With what we receive from WFP, we are able to stock up on silver fish, beans, peanuts, cooking oil to take us through the month”
“The first thing we do with the money is buy food,” says Manasseh. “After which we may use the reminder to buy crop seeds, small animals once in a while, and medicines which may not available at the nearby (Government) health centre. Malaria is expensive to treat.”
With money, Marie adds, you don’t have to borrow food or other items from people. You buy your own. She explains how her family, which receives UGS 31,000 (US$ 8.40) per person per month, can even buy delicacies such as rice.
Flexibility
Cash is cost-effective for WFP and it is flexible. If deployed in the right context, cash transfers empower people to make choices about what they eat, which can lead to more diversified diets and improved nutrition. They can improve access to food and help reduce the need to resort to negative coping strategies, such as selling valuable production assets to buy foot allows refugees to manage their resources.
Moreover, an independent study led by the University of California in 2016 found that the WFP cash multiplies in the local economy around the settlements, benefiting mostly Ugandans in the host communities.
WFP currently provides 230,000 refugees in Uganda with unconditional, unrestricted cash in lieu of in-kind food in settlements where the local food markets are functional. WFP’s supply chain experts also support the local food retailers to improve their efficiency, resulting in reduced prices of goods.
WFP supports Uganda’s unique refugee model
WFP’s assistance is intended to address hunger and poor nutrition in Uganda while supporting the progressive refugee model. In this unique model, the Government continues to receive refugees and resettle them in settlements rather than camps in line with the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework. The refugees are allocated land and allowed to move freely and work to rebuild their lives.
WFP is seeking to expand its cash transfers programme also in areas where financial services are generally well-functioning. Moreover, WFP is harmonizing its work with that of NGO partners in other sectors such as health, education, sanitation, water and shelter. This would allow refugees to meet other needs related to achieving the goal of Zero Hunger.
In Uganda, we are free
The Budilis come from a village called Keri in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They fled their home in 2013 leaving everything behind. Government and rebel soldiers were roaming the villages, killing people, telling others to go away or risk dying. People fled in fear.
“But in Uganda we are free,” says Marie. “If I want to go to (nearby) Koboko town, I just get up and go. If I see a Government soldier I will not fear or run for safety. Uganda is protecting us from danger, and our Ugandan neighbours are nice.”
“Even though we may not have a lot of money and may not have sufficient clothes for the children, we are safe and the children are healthy.”
WFP is extremely grateful for its donors to the refugee operation since 2017: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, multilateral donors, Norway, Republic of Korea, UN Central Emergency Response Fund, United Kingdom and United States America.