Haiti: Cash Assistance: A Rapid and Dignified Response for Displaced Families in Artibonite

Food, healthcare, children’s education: every displaced family has its own priorities. In Artibonite, the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM), implemented by Acted, AVSI and IMPACT Initiatives as a consortium, enables 11, 135 families to decide for themselves how best to meet their needs through cash transfers. Speed, dignity and support for the local economy: here is how this approach is making a difference for families. In August 2026, Artibonite was home to 183, 654 internally displaced people, up from 158, 358 in May (IOM). This increase was primarily driven by the spread of armed conflict to new municipalities in 2026. For many of these families, displacement meant leaving behind their homes, land or livelihoods, often with no resources. They are being hosted by relatives, sometimes in already large and vulnerable households, and must rebuild their daily lives with very limited means. In response to these needs, the RRM made a deliberate choice: to give families the means to decide for themselves what they need most. Here is why, and what difference it makes. Putting Families at the Heart of the Response Every household has its own priorities. For one family, food comes first. For another, it may be treating a sick child, paying school fees or repairing a roof. Multipurpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) recognises this reality: rather than deciding on families’ behalf, it provides them with assistance and allows them to choose how best to use it. In Haiti, MPCA aims to cover needs related to food security, education, healthcare, water and, to a lesser extent, protection. As this assistance is unconditional, households can spend the money according to their own priorities. As a result, fewer families are forced to barter or resell at a loss goods they do not need. Studies conducted by the consortium show that the main areas of expenditure are food, education, healthcare, shelter rehabilitation, the purchase of non-food items and the repayment of debts incurred during displacement. This approach is recommended by the Cash Working Group (CWG) in Haiti, which coordinates, supports and informs cash-based interventions in the country to ensure their relevance and harmonisation. The assistance amount of USD 240 is calculated based on data from IMPACT Initiatives’ Joint Market Monitoring Initiative (JMMI). In addition, the World Food Programme’s Market Functionality Index (MFI, 2026) confirms that markets in the assessed areas are sufficiently functional for households to purchase the goods they need. This is also the form of assistance preferred by beneficiaries in Haiti because of its speed and simplicity, a trend also observed globally (CALP). In practice Households are identified (displaced people, returnees and host families) during the Multi-Sector Rapid Assessment (MSRA), based on predefined vulnerability criteria. Awareness-raising sessions are provided to all households on protection, as well as good nutrition and hygiene practices. A withdrawal voucher is provided to each beneficiary targeted by RRM assistance. The assistance is collected from a financial service provider at a withdrawal point close to the beneficiary’s place of residence, upon presentation of identity documents. For the many people who lost their documents during displacement, badges are certified and provided by the Consortium during the identification process, enabling them to access the funds. Operating in an unstable Environment In Artibonite, travelling can expose people to attacks by armed groups. Cash assistance prevents beneficiaries from having to carry bags or packages along dangerous roads, but it also entails protection risks that RRM Consortium teams work to mitigate. When the situation becomes too dangerous for either staff or beneficiaries, the most responsible decision may sometimes be not to intervene. To address these risks, the Consortium works with several financial service providers to increase the number of withdrawal points, ensure liquidity and reduce delays. Additional transport support is provided for households living far from withdrawal points and for particularly vulnerable people, including persons with disabilities, older people, and pregnant or breastfeeding women. The results A study conducted by IMPACT in the municipalities of Saint-Marc and Marchand-Dessalines in 2026 highlights several effects: Essential needs are being met. Thanks to cash transfers, households’ negative coping strategies, such as reducing portion sizes or skipping meals, have been almost halved (Consortium post-intervention surveys, January 2026 and April 2026). For many households, representing nearly one-third of beneficiaries in most interventions, the transfer also makes it possible to pay children’s school fees. To a lesser extent, some have invested in income-generating activities, such as trade, gardening or livestock rearing, as a way of moving beyond the cycle of assistance. No inflation. The interventions did not lead to higher prices. By enabling households to purchase more goods, and better-quality goods, they instead stimulated demand and supported the local economy. Solidarity. Transfers are sometimes shared with other displaced households or members of the host community, reflecting dynamics of solidarity and mutual support. However, while these practices can help strengthen social relationships, their effects on social cohesion vary and depend in particular on local contexts and pre-existing relationships between communities. Dignity. In Saint-Marc, several participants described feeling a sense of relief and renewed hope after a period of distress. Being able to decide how to use the assistance helped them regain a degree of control over their situation. Coordinated and Adapted Assistance The RRM Consortium, one of the main cash assistance actors in Artibonite, has been contributing since July 2026 to revitalising cash coordination in the department. The Consortium leads regular meetings within the departmental cash transfer working group, whose long-term objective is for actors to share tools and harmonise their approaches, particularly the transfer amount, [1] in order to foster acceptance and ensure a coordinated humanitarian response. This coordination also provides an opportunity to strengthen an essential practice: conducting feasibility assessments before distributions. Market functionality, households’ access to withdrawal points and security conditions are analysed to determine whether cash is the most appropriate modality for each context. These assessments are not yet systematic, and the RRM Consortium advocates for the development of harmonised tools at national level. After the asisstance Cash assistance is a first step towards stabilising living conditions, but it needs to be combined with other forms of support, including complementary food assistance from the World Food Programme and resilience programmes. Learn more about how the RRM works, from humanitarian monitoring to emergency response here.

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