By the end of 2021, 38,236 individuals (10,072 households) were recipients of cash for food, constituting 52.8% of the registered Cameroonian refugees (72,362 in December 2021). UNHCR distributed a total of $2,354,347 in cash for food.
The Cash Based Intervention Financial Services Agreement with Standard Chartered Bank was extended for an additional year in early 2021 and the bank platform was launched in December 2021 – a key milestone. The first delivery of cash assistance via transfers into bank accounts of refugees reached 10,100 individuals, followed by the transfer of October, November, and December 2021 to 16,503 individuals. As not all areas hosting refugees are serviced by ATM machines, each account holder received an additional amount to cater for point-of-sale (POS) charges.
The cash reduction strategy could not be fully implemented in 2021 due to limited livelihood activities. The assistance amount was maintained at N3,700 ($9) per person per month for Q1 2021, however, due to funding gaps, the transfer value was reduced to N2,600 ($6) in April 2021 and remained at the same level until the end of 2021. For the October, November, and December 2021 distributions, each of the 10,036 beneficiary households received an additional top-up amount of $6 (NGN 2,600) to cushion high food prices.
A Multi Sectoral Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (MSVCA) was conducted between July and September to provide baseline data for targeted assistance.