Cash Response -Empowering Families Giving Them The Decision-Making Power

The Issue

Humanitarian needs in Ethiopia are arising from multiple overlapping and competing shocks including conflict and violence, climatic shocks such as drought and floods, disease outbreaks such as cholera and measles, and macroeconomic challenge. Conflict in northern Ethiopia and the severe drought in Afar, Oromia, Somali, SNNP Regions have resulted in 31.4 million people in need in 2023.

The Project

The Ethiopia Cash Consortium, led by Save the Children in partnership with Danchurchaid, People in Need, Norwegian Refugee Council, Action Against Hunger, Danish Red Cross/The Ethiopian Red Cross Society is based on a cost-efficient, harmonized, and coordinated multipurpose cash intervention design, which aims at contributing to the humanitarian response to critical humanitarian needs in Ethiopia. The specific objective of the project is to support the critical basic needs of the most vulnerable households whilst empowering families giving them the decision-making power to meet their needs.  

DCA’s responses are implemented in Afar and Oromia regions. In Afar, the most vulnerable Eritrean refugees, conflict- and drought-affected internally displaced people, and host communities will be supported with multipurpose cash, while in Oromia, the assistance will be the primary response to drought affected areas.

The Change

The Consortium will reach 87,328 beneficiaries, including local population, Internally Displaced Persons, returnees, and refugees, intervening in 12 Zones in seven regions, Somali, Afar, Tigray, Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz, Suthern Nation and Nationality People, Oromia. The Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance Program will reduce humanitarian needs, underlying vulnerabilities, and risks through the provision of Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance. It is evident that people do put the cash assistance received in areas such as improving their access to water, sanitation, health care and education. The Multi-Purpose Cash Assistancewill also contribute to stimulating the local economy in linking the functional markets with the community demand for goods and services, which indirectly builds resilience. Furthermore, the project will strengthen the cash coordination system supporting the work of the Ethiopian Cash Working Group aiming at building the capacity of local actors and standardizing modes of Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance operations.

Our Partners

Save the Children has been operational in Ethiopia for more than 60 years with a presence in 8 regions, and a strong record in implementing multi-sector humanitarian and development programs.

Action Against Hunger has been operational in Ethiopia for over 36 years with presence in 6 regions including Tigray and Somali. Action Against Hunger has a strong record in multi-sectoral and integrated humanitarian and resilience building programs.

Norwegian Refugee Council has been active in Ethiopia since 2011, in EiE, WASH, shelter, food security and livelihood, with high level of Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance.

People in Need (PIN) has also been working in Ethiopia since 2003 and has been implementing both emergency and development projects focused on WASH, Shelter, Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance, Education and Agriculture.

Danish Red Cross is the chosen partner from the Ethiopian Red Cross Movement to join as co-partner in this action. Danish Red Cross will work with Ethiopian Red Cross as the local implementing partner. Danish Red Cross is the co-chair of the Ethiopian Red Cross Movements -wide “cash working group” and has been supporting the capacity development of Ethiopian Red Cross.

Our Work

DCA has supported relief projects in Ethiopia since the 1970s. It operated through local partners since 1982 and in 2004 the country office in Addis Ababa was established. DCA has field offices in Sekota-Waghimra (Amhara Region), Semera (Afar Region), Robe Town (Bale, Oromia Region) and Gambella city (Gambella Region). DCA Ethiopia’s programme interventions target rural, peri-urban and urban poor, Inter, refugees and their hosting communities as direct beneficiaries. DCA works across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus to bring about sustainability and cohesion. Additionally, DCA introduces innovative and appropriate technologies to address vulnerability, fill in knowledge and skills gaps, build local capacity, and when applicable, works closely with the private sector.  

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