Since the first State of the World’s Cash Report was published in early 2018, we have seen big developments in cash and voucher assistance (CVA). US $5.6 billion in CVA was programmed in 2019, constituting 17.9 percent of total international humanitarian assistance (IHA) – double the US $2.8 billion programmed in 2016 (10.6 percent of IHA at that time). And it has not just been about delivering more CVA – there has also been an increasing emphasis on quality, along with more focus on changing roles and partnerships. While shared measures of programme quality are still lacking, a consensus is emerging that quality is defined by effectiveness, efficiency and accountability, and that recipient perspectives are a critical measure.
