CVA and Protection
In the realm of cash and protection, humanitarian practitioners distinguish between two distinct approaches. The first, known as "cash for protection" (C4P), is an intervention whereby cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is used as the modality to address individual or household-level protection needs. For instance, it might entail providing cash assistance to a victim of gender-based violence to break free from a situation of dependency. On the other hand, the second approach refers to safe, accountable and inclusive programming, which focuses on the integration of protection principles into all forms of CVA projects. This ensures that humanitarian actors do no harm and leave no one behind when providing cash or vouchers. Safe, accountable and inclusive programming should be done in all humanitarian interventions, including cash for protection.
Cash and voucher assistance, or CVA, is like any humanitarian tool: it has great potential to contribute to the resilence of vulnerable populations, but it can also lead to unintentional harm and fuel pre-existing negative gender dynamics. As humanitarian actors, we have a responsibility to «do no harm» and keep protection at the centre of all of our interventions. CVA is no different.