Table 1 Cash as AID advantages and disadvantages
From: From food to cash assistance: rethinking humanitarian aid in Yemen
Cash as aid | |
|---|---|
Advantages | Clarification |
Maintain people’s dignity and increase their basic needs access | Empowering people, to decide on their different basic needs and buy what matters to them based on their situations |
Enhance housing conditions | Giving people the chance to rebuild their houses, rent temporary places |
Financial security | People can save up some money, pay back debts, and start mini projects |
Better food diet | People can use the money to buy different forms of food |
Better living conditions could decrease poverty rates | People who cannot work will have an income, such as elderly and disabled people. On the other hand, people with low skills can make an income working for cash projects. This increases their skills and enables them to find other job opportunities |
Increases health and education rates | People now will have extra money to spend on health and education. This will give more children the opportunity to go to school. |
Engages the private sector | High demand together with individuals having cash, provides an opportunity for the private sector to supply missing commodities |
Decreases the INGO’s operational costs | Cash transition programs need less logistics cost on transportation, storage etc. |
Better conditions for children | Family income will decrease the need for children to work. They will have time to study, play, and live a normal life |
Digital cash is easier to track and distribute | Decreasing the risk of corruption and supplies being controlled by “twilight groups” and resold into secondary markets, to fund their own agendas |
Disadvantages | Clarification |
Economy stagnation and dependency | People may get used to receive aid money and supplies and stop looking for different income sources (mainly with direct cash aid) |
Women, children, and elders receive cash HA for others/unintended use of the cash | Due to the high poverty and unemployment rates, men may take advantage of powerless categories, people using the cash only for their needs. Buying redundant commodities like Qat, etc. |
Safe keep risks/needs more funds towards monitoring and auditing | Cash is a very desirable commodity, and thus, it needs to be monitored to ensure it does not fall into the hands of warring parties or corrupt officials |
Prices increase in domestic markets | If prior research was not properly executed, huge cash injections may cause inflation in the economy. |