Cash and Voucher Assistance Training for PNG’s Humanitarian Practitioners

March 23, 2022

Participants at ‘Core Programming Skills in Cash & Voucher Assistance’ training for humanitarian practitioners, 14 -18 March 2022 – UNDP in PNG

Cash and voucher assistance has emerged as an effective and efficient aid tool to deliver assistance following crises in Pacific communities. Governments and humanitarian partners are using cash and voucher assistance in response to natural disasters, conflict-related displacement, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Papua New Guinea’s Disaster Management Team (DMT), supported by the United Nations Development Programme’s Humanitarian Advisory Team, together with the Pacific Regional Cash Working Group, have completed a ‘Core Programming Skills in Cash & Voucher Assistance’ training for humanitarian practitioners, in Port Moresby.

“Cash and vouchers provide flexibility, dignity, and choice for people in need following a disaster or crisis. We are just beginning to see how we can add cash to our toolbox for providing disaster relief in PNG,” said UN Humanitarian Advisor and Secretariat to the DMT, Richard Higgins.

“Save the Children, OXFAM, and other partners have already successfully piloted small-scale cash programmes in humanitarian contexts around PNG, so we know it can work,” he added.

Over 25 representatives from humanitarian organizations, NGOs, faith-based organizations, national and provincial government entities, benefitted from intensive workshops held at the Grand Papua Hotel, during 14 to 18 March 2022.

This week-long training focused on developing the knowledge, skills, and confidence of humanitarian organizations practitioners to design high-quality cash and voucher assistance in the humanitarian context of PNG.

Humanitarian practitioners attended from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency Papua New Guinea, ChildFund PNG, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, UN Children’s Fund, International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), PNG Red Cross Society, International Organization for Migration, OXFAM and Save the Children.

Government representatives from the Department of Education, Community Development and Religion, the Eastern Highlands provincial government, and Goroka local-level government also completed the training in ‘Core Programming Skills in Cash & Voucher Assistance’ for humanitarian practitioners.

UNDP provides strategic support to the National Disaster Centre to strengthen the country’s preparedness, mitigation and effective response to disasters and crises across Papua New Guinea.