Unconditional cash transfer support to vulnerable households in Northern Diyala The proposed project will be implemented in the Diyala governorate of Iraq and build upon Oxfam’s ongoing humanitarian response in this area which includes Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Emergency Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihoods (EFSVL) interventions. In early 2016 Oxfam has implemented livelihood projects with a four-pronged strategy – supporting small business recovery with cash grants, assisting families with livestock assets, cash-for-work initiatives and mobile income generation for Internally Displaced People (IDPs). This month Oxfam began implementing another critical type of support – providing unconditional cash grants in order to increase food security of target beneficiaries. The project outlined in this proposal will continue Oxfam’s efforts to reach vulnerable families with unconditional cash and expand the reach of assistance to those who have not yet been supported through previous projects this includes many returnees, internally displaced peoples and host community members. 

According to HRP in Diyala governorate, vulnerable families have increasingly depleting productive assets and are engaging in corrosive coping strategies, such as reducing daily meals.This project’s main objective is to increase the resilience of vulnerable households, by bolstering food security and meeting other critical household needs, or support families’ recovery of assets.  This objective will be achieved through the distribution of one-off unconditional cash transfers of $400 USD as in line with and approved by the National Cash Working Group strategy. The expected immediate outcome is to ensure vulnerable households in the conflict-affected area of Diyala can meet basic needs.  The cash infusion for vulnerable families should impact their capacity to bolster food security, meet critical household needs, and support families’ recovery of assets.  

The project will also positively impact local businesses, increasing their sales and help them recover from the periods of forced closures. Oxfam will partner with local cash transfer institutions (Hawalas) to ensure safe and efficient disbursement of cash sums to beneficiaries.

As with all Oxfam humanitarian responses, gender considerations and the specific needs of men, women, boys and girls will be taken into account throughout the project. The response will target returnees, IDPs and the most vulnerable members of the host communities. Many returnees have recently arrived at the areas of Jalawla and Saadiya, both places which experienced fierce fighting and damage from the conflict and brief occupation of Daesh in 2014/15. IDPs are from various places, many from Jalawla area that have not been able to return and some from as far as Ramadi, which is 360km away.  The IDPs share living spaces in the semi-rural villages in the districts of Qara Tapa and Jalawla and the surrounding. Recent assessments in these areas show that approximately 80% of residents (host community) and IDPs are without any form of stable income.

For beneficiary identification and selection Oxfam has developed a comprehensive vulnerability scoring tool that will be used to identify the families at greatest risk to receive the unconditional cash grants.  This tried and tested tool has been used successfully in Oxfam interventions in the area with the criteria having been developed along with the help of local community members. Oxfam has identified over 1,000 vulnerable households (HH) with this tool for previous interventions and is conducting a vulnerability assessment in the Jalawla and Saadiya areas for the current cash programming (see other funding sources section).  The funding from this proposal will be used to expand the scale and reach of helping vulnerable families  to have access to funds that will allow them to meet their basic needs