UNHCR - "Contribution in support of people of concern to UNHCR in Lebanon, Syria, Mali and Niger"

UNHCR aims to provide monthly MPCA to 144,000 most severely vulnerable Syrian refugee families in Lebanon to help them meet their essential needs such as shelter, food and medicine. Families are able to withdraw cash from any ATM in Lebanon and afford the goods and services they need most according to their prioritisation without repeatedly travelling to and queueing at distribution points to collect in-kind items. Functioning markets, technical capacity, adequate banking services, and infrastructure throughout Lebanon allows cash-based assistance to be an effective and efficient modality to meet refugees’ basic needs; shelter, food, medicine, clothing, and household items are readily available through the local market and ATMs are easily accessible. Both refugees and UNHCR value the dignity that cash assistance allows. Injecting cash into the local economy may also contribute to attenuating increasing tensions between refugees and local populations by increasing cash flow in local markets. In this context, cash-based assistance serves as a viable and preferred alternative to in-kind assistance. MPCA is provided through LOUISE , the single electronic card platform established in 2016 that brings together UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, and NGO partners involved in cash transfer activities in Lebanon. LOUISE, as an inter-organizational platform, oversees the majority of cash-based assistance in Lebanon and provides coordinated and coherent cash-based assistance to Syrian refugees. UNHCR, alongside partners and relevant sectors, uses an econometric formula to predict the expenditure of refugee households as a proxy of socioeconomic vulnerability. The model was first introduced in 2016 and is reviewed and updated every year to ensure that the targeting approach stays relevant, and is adapted to trends in the refugee community. The formula is derived from the VASyR data. To ensure that assistance reaches the intended beneficiaries and serves its purpose, UNHCR has put in place a robust system of financial control, verification and monitoring. This includes:  Identity verification during card collection for beneficiaries who are not yet in possession of an ATM card;  Validation of beneficiary identity prior to uploading for those who received an ATM card before;  Card embossment only after identity checks;  Bank upload instruction through Secured File Transfer;  Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) protected by digital signature;  Post-distribution on monitoring including withdrawal tracking;  Outcome monitoring reports;  Focus group discussions, surveys and distribution record tracking. UNHCR uses iris scans systematically for the validation process for MPCA and is working towards validating all refugees benefiting from MPCA every three months. Validation by iris scan is also used systematically during the regular registration and protection-related activities when refugees approach UNHCR's reception centres. UNHCR also conducts mobile validation using iris scans for refugees who are not able to approach the centres e.g., due to immobility. Since 2018, UNHCR has also implemented a grievance redress mechanism (GRM) for the cash assistance programme to enhance responsiveness to refugees who have been discontinued from assistance or who were never assisted. The GRM was co-designed by refugees who, themselves, initiated a review process by placing claims through dedicated channels such as UNCHR’s call centre, a web link, and reception centres. In 2021/22, 11,000 refugee families were selected to receive MCAP through the GRM. During the targeting and GRM periods, several consultations are held with refugees, such as workshops with Refugee Outreach Volunteers (OVs) and Focus Group Discussions with both assisted and non-assisted refugees. The Call Centre also serves as the main complaint mechanism for refugee families receiving assistance. The objective of the project is to support severely and highly vulnerable refugee families who are already struggling to meet their basic needs, cover additional expenses incurred, and reduce resorting to negative coping strategies.

The MPCA is an integral part of UNHCR’s comprehensive protection response to refugees in Lebanon. The overall goal of MPCA is to improve the living conditions of vulnerable refugee families and reduce their susceptibility to exploitation and other protection risks such as child labour and survival sex. UNHCR’s MPCA programme also directly contributes to the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), Lebanon’s HRP to the Syria crisis, with the objective of strengthening the ability of vulnerable households (HH) and individuals, including female headed HHs, persons with disabilities and children, to meet their basic survival needs. At the global level, the programme builds on and is aligned with the Global Compact on Refugees and its Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), UNHCR’s Global Strategic Directions – to protect, respond, include empower and solve – as well as the UN Strategic Framework in Lebanon (UNSDCF 2023-2025) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, contributing to its goal to end poverty in all its forms everywhere and its goal to end hunger and achieve food security.