Cash Transfers in Emergencies; A Recipient Perspective of Citizen\'s Damage Compensation Programme (CDCP) in Peshawar

The monsoon floods of 2010 ended up being the most devastating experience in the history of Pakistan. Heavy rainfall and the resulting flash floods created a moving body of water equivalent to the land mass of England, that completely inundated everything in its path. The unfolding nature of the emergency and the sheer expanse of devastation challenged the capacity of the Government of Pakistan (GoP) and of the entire humanitarian community. The complexity of response increased with the diverse and constantly-changing necessities of the flood-affected people, ranging from evacuation in some areas to phased rehabilitation in other places.The Government of Pakistan, through its Citizens’ Damage Compensation Programme (CDCP), delivered humanitarian assistance to affected households for early recovery and revival of livelihoods.  With the changing nature of humanitarian emergencies, cash-based initiatives are progressively being utilised as assistance and considered to be suitable or at times preferred substitute for in-kind support. This study examines the impact of CDCP from recipients’ point of view, on the lives of flood-affected individuals through a case study undertaken in the Peshawar District of Pakistan.  A cash transfer programme of this scale in humanitarian context was the first of its kind.A qualitative research enabled an in-depth examination of recipients’ perspective, validated through a review of published evaluations and other relevant documents. Findings reveal that cash transfers were useful and favoured by the recipients; however, the amount disbursed at the individual level proved insufficient, barely meeting expenditures on necessities. There is hardly any evidence of utilisation for reviving livelihood or productive investments. The use of technology and financial institutions clearly improved operations, accountability and monitoring of the programme, in spite of a few reported incidents of corruption and gaps in public information campaigns and the targeting process.