Story By Rita Kemigisa
The UN refugee agency is to double funds for cash-based assistance to refugees across the world by 2020 as a way to better assist and protect them.
This has been revealed by UNCHR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi.in a statement issued this afternoon.
He notes that cash assistance benefits local businesses and economies and is an important asset to foster relationships between host and refugee communities.
A recent study by the University of California, Davis and World Food Programme found that humanitarian assistance for refugees in Uganda creates significant economic benefits for local economies, particularly when that assistance is provided in cash form.
UNHCR is already providing cash-based interventions in 60 countries.