Multi-purpose cash assistance program for vulnerable populations in Mykolaivska, Odeska, Chernihivska, and Sumska oblasts On 2nd March 2022, ERC, with help from its local partners, was the first INGO to roll out post-escalation multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) in Ukraine. As of 10th October, ERC has reached more than 54 000 households with MPCA, including in recently liberated and areas temporarily occupied and hard-to-reach, remote locations. This includes actions funded by OCHA UHF implemented in Donetska and Zaporizhska oblasts (UKR-22/UKR_CBPF/RA2/FSL/INGO/21668) and in Poltavska, Cherkaska, and Kirovohradska oblasts (UKR-22/UKR_CBPF/RA3/MPC/INGO/21882).

With this proposal, ERC would like to carry out multi-purpose cash (MPC) assistance program to support crisis-affected communities and people displaced due to military actions to meet their immediate basic needs in line with the needs identified by the humanitarian community. This proposal builds on ERC’s experience on the ground and the lessons learned, and considers the humanitarian community’s newly available information and strategic objectives. 

The proposal is developed in line with the UHF 2022 First Standard Allocation Strategy 2022 objective, which is also objective no. 1 of the revised Flash Appeal “Provide principled and timely, lifesaving multisectoral assistance to people affected by the war.” The project responds to the need to concentrate on multisectoral response in the areas with the highest needs and provides targeted vulnerability-based MPCA to holistically address the humanitarian needs of affected people.

The program aims to provide MPCA to 4500 individuals for three consecutive months. The project targets vulnerable populations in Mykolaivska, Odeska, Chernihivska, and Sumska oblasts. These populations have experienced months of intense hostilities without adequate access to food, water, health care, education, protection, and other essential services, and the destruction of infrastructure. The choice of the target regions and target vulnerable households to be reached by ERC is based on the needs assessments done by the humanitarian community (OCHA, FAO, IOM, REACH, World Bank) and ERC's conclusions from the continuous monitoring of its programs and beneficiaries since March 2022. Based on that, ERC is confident that the proposed MPC intervention is a valuable addition to the humanitarian operations in Ukraine, which will alleviate human suffering and secure the basic needs of the target populations.

The program is performing holistic beneficiary vulnerability assessments. The project targets vulnerable host communities, IDPs, returnees, persons in hard-to-reach areas, recently liberated territories, and people living under occupation. Examples of the vulnerabilities that we take into account are loss of the primary breadwinner, loss or damage of the dwelling, disability or chronic illness, single-parent households, women-headed households, households with minors, newborns, pregnant or lactating women, and the elderly. The program does not cap the size of households. Single-person households are also eligible to apply.

MPCA transfer value is 2220 UAH (currently ca $62) per household member, per the harmonized transfer value agreed by the OCHA's Cash Working Group (CWG). The main transfer mechanism is through bank transfers to the personal accounts of beneficiaries. ERC ensures deduplication of effort by using the WFP-provided Building Blocks deduplication system and is on standby to use the Ukrainian-provided mechanism DIIA as soon as it is ready and available for the humanitarian community.

To ensure the program’s effectiveness and that MPCA remains one of the region’s most effective and fit-for-purpose assistance modalities, ERC closely follows and actively participates in CWG, market monitoring, and performs program operational monitoring activities and post-distribution monitoring of MPCA incl. at the newly occupied territories. ERC is also a part of the Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI), covering Zaporizhska and Kharkivska oblasts.