24. Clash Coordination

Distribution of cash instead of commodities is transforming humanitarian action. Cash distribution has grown quickly in past years and today represents roughly 20% of assistance is given.Cash gives crisis affected populations choices and agency but it also places the sector based humanitarian architecture under stress. There is clearly a need to review the current coordination arrangements for cash assistance, but this has profound implications for the most powerful agencies in the sector.To get things moving 95 organisations have sent a letter to the outgoing and the incoming Emergency Relief Coordinator to move the issue of cash coordination forward. You can find the letter here: https://www.calpnetwork.org/news/95-organisations-sign-letter-calling-for-strengthened-cash-coordination/On this episode Lars Peter Nissen invites four guests to discuss why cash coordination is so difficult and what to do about it. The guests are:Sophie Tholstrup, Head of Technology for Development Policy Unit at Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-tholstrup-93222311)Patrick Saez, Center for Global Development. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-saez-143b3b9/Edward (Ed) Fraser, Global Economic Recovery Adviser - Cash & Voucher Assistance Lead at Danish Refugee Council / Dansk Flygtningehjælp. https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-fraser-6055aa1/Isabelle Pelly, Global Thematic Expert - Cash and Basic Needs at DG European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office - ECHO. https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelle-pelly-29a82244/You can find the State of the World Cash report here: https://www.calpnetwork.org/state-of-the-worlds-cash-2020/Patrick Saez research paper "Inclusive Coordination: Building an Area-Based Humanitarian Coordination Model" is available at this address: https://www.cgdev.org/publication/inclusive-coordination-building-area-based-humanitarian-coordination-model