Why cash is king: How mobile cash transfers save lives and empower locals in Somalia

By Paul Carr

Cash is revolutionising the way that humanitarian aid is being delivered. Somalia is a prime example of this, where in coordination with donors such as European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) and Irish Aid, Concern is finding innovative ways to ensure that those most in need are reached while empowering them along the way.

Since the devastating famine in 2011, cash transfers have been used in Somalia to meet the immediate needs of communities while building their resilience to future shocks. This is based on a sound understanding of what communities affected by crises - such as conflict, drought and displacement - really need, and what works best to respond to those needs.

Between 2016 and 2017, Somalia experienced four consecutive below average or failed rainy seasons, and was on the brink of famine again in 2017. These dire circumstances provided another opportunity for cash to show just how effective it can be in saving lives and alleviating suffering. So, why does it work so well?

The benefits of cash transfers

Cheaper, Faster - Let’s imagine there is a community in the middle of the desert who desperately need food, and fast. You decide to load a plane with supplies, but first you need to source the supplies, charter a plane, find an airstrip to land it, and then there is the matter of getting the supplies from the airstrip to the villages. Roads are impassable or armed groups block the only route. All this can take weeks, or even months, and ships and planes and trucks are expensive. Cash is different - cash reaches further for less. What’s more, it’s fast, really fast. In 2018, Concern was able to mobilise following floods and cyclones and within 48 hours send enough money for families to buy life-saving supplies.

Sustainability – Cash is particularly effective in Somalia because local markets are most often functional, even in those places which are difficult for aid agencies to reach with more traditional interventions. This means that as soon as a family receives their mobile money transfer, they can purchase goods in the local market. This in turns drives the local economy, ensuring local farmers, traders and shop owners have a continued market for their produce.

Dignity and choice – Concern’s cash programming in Somalia is unconditional and multi-purpose, meaning that families can make the decision to use it for their most pressing needs at that given time. Extensive research shows that in Somalia the urgent need is most often food. However a sick family member may need medication or a damaged shelter may need repair. Cash allows for that choice. What’s more, unconditional multipurpose cash transfers empower people, and put the responsibility in their hands to enable them to escape poverty.

Smart, efficient, coordinated – Concern works very closely with other agencies and local partners to coordinate and harmonise approaches to select those most in need, deliver the cash effectively and ensure maximum impact. In Somalia we first work with partners to identify communities and families most in need and to ensure as many communities as possible are reached. Then we work with telecommunications companies to register phone numbers or distribute sim cards to those that don’t already have them. The recipients then receive an SMS to say they have received the cash transfer and they go to a shop to buy what they need and enter a secure PIN to spend the money. All of this is facilitated by an extensive mobile phone network, which allows us to reach even the most remote villages. When the cash transfers are complete, Concern engages in extensive follow up with families to take on board feedback and conduct research on the impact that the cash transfers have.