Cash Working Group: People in need, planned reach, people prioritized and requirements by Strategic Priority
The Cash Working Group, through the Unified Cash Transfers (UCTs) and Group Cash Transfers (GCTs), contributes to the following 2026 HNRP Strategic Objectives and Strategic Priorities:
- Strategic Objective 1: Deliver life-saving, flexible, and people-centered cash assistance aligned with four Strategic Priorities, including:
- Strategic Priority 1: UCT for the most vulnerable populations residing in frontline areas
- Strategic Priority 2: UCT supporting evacuations
- Strategic Priority 3: UCT responding to strikes
- Strategic Priority 4: UCT targeting the most vulnerable long-term internally displaced persons (IDPs) living further than >50km from frontline
- Strategic Objective 2: Facilitate community resilience and recovery by providing group cash transfers that support a flexible, localized response to repair damage to institutions, community structures, and infrastructure affecting frontline communities (linked to Strategic Priority 1) and enhance locally led response.
The UCTs represent an evolution from the single MPCA activity used from 2022-2025. While MPCA will continue during the transition period where required, UCTs progressively become the primary unrestricted cash activities by 2026. The four UCT activities and Group Cash Transfers are 25% of the funding requirements under the 2026 HNRP.
Summary of Needs
The design of the UCTs was based on the analysis of the generic needs and expenditure patterns of affected people under each Strategic Priority to design a harmonized transfer value to cover the needs of the most vulnerable people experiencing war-related shocks and protracted needs caused by the conflict to reduce the use of negative coping strategies.
Strategic Priority 1: Unified Cash Transfers for Frontline Response
The UCT1 for frontline response aims to support war-affected vulnerable families in areas in proximity to the contact line (0-50km) facing protracted humanitarian needs due to rising inflation, high living costs, loss of livelihoods and disruption of services. Market monitoring shows the cost of living is 8.3% higher in frontline areas than elsewhere in Ukraine (JMMI 2025). Cash assistance is feasible and preferred by beneficiaries, including those in the 0-50 km zone (70% of people in the frontline prefer cash assistance according to REACH’s Multi-Sector Needs Assessment, 2025). Due to funding constraints and the high number of people in need in frontline, the UCT1 will prioritize support to the needs of vulnerable people living within 0-20km distance from frontline.
Strategic Priority 2: Unified Cash Transfer for Evacuations
The needs of evacuees evolve throughout their journey: initially, they require supported movement, information, safety, protection, and psychosocial assistance. Upon arrival at transit or temporary sites, their priorities shift to secure accommodation, financial support for basic living conditions, healthcare, continued protection, and reliable information until relocation to settlements or collective sites. Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) and household expenditure data show evacuees have heightened needs for household Non-Food Items (NFIs) (UNHCR, 2024). Sudden displacement means evacuees cannot bring all their belongings, requiring new purchases as a result of displacement.
Strategic Priority 3: Unified Cash Transfer for Response to Strikes
Immediate and medium-term needs of people affected by strikes include those stemming from physical damage to property, loss of household items, loss of livelihood and disruption of essential services, alongside emotional and psychological distress. Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) and household expenditure data highlight a pronounced need for shelter support among strike-affected households. Because the available data lack sufficient detail to indicate which shelter needs are routinely met with unrestricted cash assistance, the UCT3 strategy focuses on bridging the gap between emergency shelter kit distribution and subsequent rehabilitation efforts through the UCT3.
Strategic Priority 4: UCT targeting the most vulnerable long-term internally displaced persons (IDPs) living further than >50km from frontline
Long-term vulnerable IDPs living >50km from frontline who are under protection risk and recipients of case management face a distinct set of challenges linked to prolonged displacement. While most IDPs eventually access the government IDP allowance, a subset of particularly vulnerable groups remains excluded due to documentation issues, registration barriers, mobility constraints, or other protection issues. This assistance bridges the gap for those not currently enrolled in the IDP allowance until they receive the Government IDP allowance upon application or reapplication. During this period of exclusion, households face ongoing financial pressures related to rent, utilities, health needs, caregiving, and other essential expenses. Social services may be overstretched, causing delays in care and protection. Many live in substandard conditions with increased protection risks and inadequate infrastructure. Challenges to integration include poor access to health, employment, and social services, and limited community support. These factors push families toward negative coping strategies to meet basic needs.
Response Strategy
The Cash Working Group’s strategy for 2026 is to support the ICCG and clusters in building a more harmonized cash response, following the issue-based HNRP. The primary objective is to promote the use of unrestricted and unconditional cash assistance wherever feasible, through UCTs, leveraging the strength and flexibility of this cash activity to address the generic needs of the affected people under each strategic priority:
- The UCT1 design aims to help vulnerable households withstand the economic burden of living close to hostilities (prioritizing 0-20km), building on lessons from the 2022–2025 MPCA response by assisting them to meet their protracted needs born from living in frontline. The UCT1 is designed to complement existing or emerging social protection programmes and reduce reliance on harmful coping strategies. UCT1 transfer value is 10,800 UAH/person to be paid over a period of no longer than six months, with the option of payment as a lump sum or through monthly installments.
- The UCT2 design is meant to help evacuees meet core living standards, especially in the first three months after evacuation, with specific recognition of the higher NFI needs during this period. UCT2 transfer value is 12,300 UAH per person, paid as a lump sum, covering three months.
- The UCT3 is designed to cover both basic living needs and core emergency household restoration needs, complementing and linking sector-specific shelter interventions for those directly impacted. It aims to bridge the gap between emergency shelter kit distribution and subsequent rehabilitation efforts through the UCT3. UCT3 transfer value is 12,300 UAH per person, paid as a lumpsum, covering three months.
- The UCT4 is designed to assist long-term vulnerable IDPs who are not currently receiving state assistance through the government’s IDP allowance and living >50km from frontline, who are under protection case management and referred to cash actors. This assistance bridges the gap for those not currently enrolled in the IDP allowance until they receive the Government IDP allowance upon application or reapplication. UCT4 transfer value is 2,000 UAH per adult per month, and 3,000 UAH per month for children and persons with disabilities.
Protection considerations are embedded in the targeting framework for the UCTs, with target groups identified based on socio-economic and protection vulnerabilities. The cash transfer mechanism will also be adapted according to the needs of specific population segments, prioritizing accessible solutions for the elderly and people with disabilities, taking into consideration familiar means of receiving cash from pensions and social benefits.
Strong Accountability to Affected Populations will continue to be promoted with the launch of the new activities to ensure a smooth transition between Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) and the UCTs. This change will be communicated to communities, local authorities and partners, through strong AAP key messaging, consistent engagement and information sharing.
When feasible, the UCTs aim to be an entry point for multi-sectoral assistance, where basic and sectoral needs applicable to the majority of people under that strategic priority that can be addressed via cash are covered by UCTs. Ideally, during the registration process needs for sector-specific targeted assistance will be identified and referrals to the respective sectors and activities under that Response Package will be ensured in order to leverage the multi-sectoral nature of the response packages under each strategic priority and the issue-based approach.
Sub-national CWG, technical and operational coordination at sub-national level, will continue to support existing humanitarian coordination structures (HOCGs, ABCs…), to collaborate with stakeholders (local authorities, MoSP branches, community representatives and CSOs) and to manage Emergency Rotation Mechanisms to ensure harmonized, efficient, effective and timely shock-responsive UCT delivery.
CWG, SN-CWG, and CWG members will continue to engage with the Government, and local authorities to ensure coordination around the unrestricted cash assistance, especially when dealing with targeting and identification of potential beneficiaries, to enhance complementarity with state assistance and to identify coverage gaps. Deduplication of UCTs will also be ensured thanks to the deduplication system adopted by the CWG, ensuring an efficient allocation of resources. Also, to identify potential exit strategies linked to livelihoods support and transition pathways of vulnerable population group into social protection programs.
Targeting and Prioritization
In addition to the previous references to targeting and prioritization for each UCT, the CWG continues to work on the development of UCT-specific technical guidance that includes methodology, targeting, prioritization, deduplication, AAP messaging and monitoring. The guidance will be differentiated per Strategic Priority, following the needs that each UCT aims to cover, and the vulnerability profiles identified under each.
Targeting for UCTs builds on the 2025 MPCA experience, where two approaches were used: (i) support for households facing socio-economic vulnerability and (ii) response to sudden shocks. The UCT model refines this by aligning targeting criteria with the specific vulnerabilities and needs under each Strategic Priority, with geographic scope applied to prioritize the most vulnerable. The Technical Guidance for UCTs will be revised during 2026 and improved based on evidence and lessons learnt from implementation.
Modality and Implementation Approach
Cash remains the preferred response modality across different affected vulnerable populations groups (IDPs, PwDs, elderly, etc.). Therefore, UCTs are designed to increase and incentivize the use of cash assistance wherever feasible and to cover the generic needs of affected populations per issue. As per design, the approach will be solely implemented via unrestricted and unconditional cash assistance, leveraging the flexibility of cash and its people-centered approach, with proven positive multiplier effect in local markets and economies.
Details on Costing Method
UCTs and GCTs are new activities. The methodology for UCTs developed by CWG co-chairs in consultation with members (UN, INGOs and NGOs) during multiple regular and ad-hoc meetings. The costing methodology follows existing MPCA practice.
UCTs’ unit costs, i.e. transfer values, were calculated using an analysis of the needs within each strategic priority through Post-Distribution Monitoring data, consultations, market monitoring data, and humanitarian needs assessments. For more details on UCTs, please refer to the Unified Cash Transfers – Methodology Overview.
The unit cost of the Group Cash Transfer was calculated as an average for the GCT between USD 3K and USD 12K.
For each UCT unit and activity cost calculations the UN Operational Exchange Rate for USD as of 15 October was used, with assumption that status quo remains. In case of high inflation or plummeting exchange rates of UAH, CWG will revise the transfer values to ensure protection of vulnerable populations’ purchasing power and the impact of UCTs.
As UCTs and GCT are new activities for 2026 HNRP, last year's percentage of overhead cost was applied, which was previously calculated as an average weighted percentage for 14 MPCA partners (3 NNGOs, 7 INGOs, 1 Red Cross and 3 UN) that reflect admin costs, including project costs, salaries, and financial service provider fees, etc.
Monitoring Priorities
In order to track the implementation of UCTs, CWG will monitor plans and achievements from cash partners through the 5Ws reporting and CWG’s operational reporting tool. SN-CWG’s operational coordination will be required for effective monitoring of potential overlaps and to better coordinate the response, within the CWG members and other humanitarian coordination structures (HOCGs, ABCs, etc.). The 5Ws will be tracked as per standard through the Activity Info platform or newly developed OCHA reporting tools.
In order to manage and avoid potential overlaps in the assistance, in parallel to the operational tools, the deduplication platform at CWG level will be used to ensure effective allocation of the assistance.
Additionally, the existing harmonized MPCA PDM tool will be adjusted for UCTs to track impact of and satisfaction with the assistance, and the process. When feasible, Post-Distribution Monitoring results and feedback from the Complaints and Feedback Mechanisms from partners will be analyzed on a regular basis in order to understand the effectiveness and adequacy of the response as well as any modifications and adjustments to the approach needed.
Due to the flexibility around the frequency of the assistance in frontline UCT1 (lump sum or monthly transfers), data on beneficiaries’ preferences and satisfaction will also be analyzed on a rolling basis to understand the adequacy of the two approaches and make necessary improvements to the response moving forward.
As conditions in the frontline areas remain dynamic and changeable, it will also be necessary to monitor access to markets and overall market functionality, especially for areas in proximity to the line of contact and the Russian border.
Linkages and Coordination
The UCTs have been designed as complementary to the government response by considering existing national social protection programmes applicable to each individual Strategic Priority, also paving the way for a potential exit strategy for humanitarian cash assistance.
- For SP1, identified potential programmes for linkages are currently under pilot or planning stage i.e. Basic Social Allowance programme and Frontline Social Support.
- For SP2, the IDP allowance has been factored in the design of the approach and transfer value, recognizing that 80% of the IDPs receive it after the first or second month from the start of their displacement journey.
- For SP3, linkages are factored in with the E-recovery programme from the government and cooperation with the shelter cluster on the sequencing with housing rehabilitations for families directly affected by a strike.
- For SP4, the IDP allowance is considered as the primary exit strategy and the approach aims to target those individuals who are eligible to receive assistance from the government but are not receiving it due to legal and documentation barriers or other protection issues. SP4 approach aims to bridge the gap until they will be receiving the IDP allowance directly from the government, while case management and other complementary assistance will help excluded individuals to overcome those barriers.
The Unified Cash Transfers, designed with members of Strategic Priority Working Groups and in consultation with CWG members, consider complementarity with other sectoral types of assistance included in the priority-based response packages. Bearing in mind that referrals will be key in operationalizing the SPs’ response packages, to ensure that specific sectoral needs of individuals will be addressed on top of the generic needs that the UCTs aim to cover.
Cooperation with local authorities will be key in order to efficiently coordinate the response to shocks i.e. evacuations and strikes, to make sure that the humanitarian assistance complements and does not substitute the local response. For UCTs targeting protracted needs, cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy and other government authorities will be operationalized with the aim to avoid overlaps. Cooperation with the government will also be required to continue discussions around exit strategies for the humanitarian cash assistance and the operationalization of linkages with social protection.