Provision of Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance to Vulnerable IDP Households in Yemen (Rapid Response Mechanism), Priority 2 In line with YHF’s SA1 Priority 2, IOM aims to improve the living conditions of newly displaced crisis-affected households and families affected by disasters related to natural hazards through the provision of multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) to 1,400 households as part of the rapid response mechanism (RRM) assistance package. One-off MPCA will be provided on a blanket basis to 1,400 newly displaced households or approximately 9,800 individuals (2,156 men, 2,254 women, 2,744 boys, 2,646 girls) receiving RRM kits. Of the 1,400 target beneficiary households, 600 of the most vulnerable households or 4,200 individuals, which will be identified through Cash Consortium of Yemen’s (CCY) Vulnerability Analysis Framework (VAF), will receive a further two rounds of MPCA to cover their essential basic needs.

By design, IOM directly targets female-headed households to receive MPCA through the VAF to effectively integrate the needs of women and girls. Over half of the participants in the design of the VAF were women, ensuring that women’s voices were included in understanding local conceptions of vulnerability and cash eligibility. All IOM teams are made up of both male and female staff, and separate waiting areas and bathrooms are provided for men and women at all IOM distribution sites to ensure privacy, safety, and a sense of security are felt by all. IOM distribution sites are designed to promote the accessibility and safety of persons with disabilities (PwD), and by design,  PwD-heads of households and households with  PwD members are more likely to receive MPCA through the VAF, with both weighted variables in the framework as seen in Annex 1.

First line assistance will involve a one-off payment of approximately YER 116,000 in de-facto authority (DFA) controlled areas and YER 147,000 in internationally recognized government (IRG) areas and/or multi-month payments to extremely vulnerable households based on the recommended transfer value determined by the Yemen Cash and Market Working Group (CMWG) Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) Technical Working Group. The transfer amount for the north and south of Yemen averages out to around USD 177 per distribution. 

As the RRM is needs-based, location-flexible mechanism that is designed to respond to new displacements as they occur, the planned geographic locations of cash grant distributions will be selected based on where new displacements are expected or take place, with focus on Ta’iz and Ma’rib for conflict-affected households (Annex 2). IOM’s cash transfer mechanism will be either via static points of the contracted financial service provider where existing branches/clients of the Financial Service Provider (FSP) are available or via mobile teams provided by the FSP to ensure the most flexible and wide coverage.

As a part of its commitment to Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP), IOM in Yemen has a dedicated Community Feedback Team to oversee the operation of various Complaint and Feedback Mechanisms (CFMs). The Organization utilizes complaint boxes, a dedicated email, hotline and community meetings to ensure affected populations have access to various pathways for two-way communication with IOM. Also, IOM will work with its third-party monitor to routinely review and improve the quality of its activities. As outlined in Annex 5, IOM’s monitoring plan for the cash programme will include continuous assessments as well as post-distribution monitoring surveys, that report against its indicators and identify best practices and lessons learned that can be mainstreamed within project implementation.