Knowledge Transfer Workshop on “Experiences and Potentials with Cash-based Approaches in Mongolia”

1 Introduction

Between 1999 and 2002 14,000 herder families lost all their livestock due to ‘dzuds’, severe durzii_ppp.JPGsnow disasters followed and worsened by summer droughts. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation(SDC) partnered with the National Emergency Management Agency and responded with an innovative approach, the ‘Cash for Herders’ Projects. These cash transfer projects were a relatively new approach to humanitarian assistance in emergency and rehabilitation situations. This approach assumes that herders, knowing best what they lack, are able to prioritize their needs and are people with dignity, who do not want to be recognized as aid recipients. Through bank transfers, over 7,600 herder families received a one-off cash contribution of CHF 220. In total SDC has spent CHF2.16million(1.8 million USD) in four different cash projects in Mongolia. For more information on cash programs please visit SDC’s cash project website under: http://www.sdc-cashprojects.ch/.

Today cash-based approaches are increasingly used in longer term contexts to assist the most vulnerable segments of the society, e.g. victims of AIDS. International donors such as the World Bank have gained significant experience in implementing Cash Transfer Projects especially in the social and educational sector, targeted at the most vulnerable people of the society.

The Government of Mongolia is using untargeted cash transfers to reduce poverty to children and newly wed couples. The World Bank has initiated a series of studies on appropriate implementation and conditions for children’s allowances in Mongolia.

In view of the high risk exposure of Mongolian herders to climatic shocks, livestock insurance approaches, which are currently tested in Mongolia, may become an useful vulnerability mitigation approach in remote Mongolia.

The proposed workshop on Cash-based approaches in Mongolia will bring those organizations together, which have an interest in the topic to exchange experiences and information as well as to discuss ways forward to improved effectiveness of projects or programmes now and for the future.

2 Aim and Expected Results

The aim of the workshop is to share experiences and lessons learnt from Cash Transfer Projects discussion.JPG(in Mongolia and elsewhere) with interested individuals and institutions and to increase the awareness of potentials and limitations of cash transfers in Mongolia.

The expected results of this workshop are three-fold:

  • To learn about the benefits and limitations of cash transfers in prevention, emergency, rehabilitation and development contexts relevant for Mongolia.
  • To increase acceptance of cash transfers in Mongolia among key stakeholders and
  • To outline ways to further develop Cash Transfers schemes to address social security as well as disaster risk reduction.

3 Venue

November 6, 2007: Introduction to the topic and discussion among stakeholders

November 7, 2007: Thematic workshop among practitioners

Location Conference room, NEMA, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

4 Organisation

The organization of the workshop is coordinated by SDC in Mongolia. 

Workshop Related Documents:

1. Report on the “Knowledge transfer workshop on cash-based approaches in Mongolia, November 6-7, 2007”

2. Workshop Presentations:

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