Looking ahead to 2026, the humanitarian community has adopted a more strategic and harmonized approach to cash within the new HNRP structure. Cash assistance is formally prioritized “wherever feasible”, reflecting its effectiveness, flexibility and strong community preference in the 2026 planning. Cash and Vouchers Assistance (CVA) represents approximately 40 per cent of Strategic Priority 1 requirements, 55 per cent for Strategic Priority 2, 33 per cent for Strategic Priority 3 and 34 per cent for Strategic Priority 4, amounting to US$889 million in planned CVA for the 2026 HNRP—39 per cent of overall funding requirements (29 per cent for unrestricted and unconditional cash activities through Unified Cash Transfers and 10 per cent for sectoral cash and voucher assistance). This planned proportion remains below the peak 50 per cent CVA share achieved in 2022.
The implementation of Cash and Vouchers will be carried out in ways that avoid system disruption, capture the preference of people and sustain system resilience efforts.
Unified Cash Transfers
In 2026, the single multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) activity will be shifted towards Unified Cash Transfers (UCTs) for (i) households facing socio-economic vulnerability and (ii) response to sudden shocks. UCTs tailor unrestricted cash assistance to deliver the response anchored in the four Strategic Priorities of the 2026 HNRP, ensuring that the type and duration of support are aligned with the identified generic needs, whether protracted or shock-induced, affecting different population groups. The objective is to provide flexible, context-appropriate cash assistance that covers the common needs of people within each Strategic Priority through a harmonized transfer, directly contributing to the humanitarian outcomes.
Transfer values under each Strategic Priority have been defined through a data-driven process based on expenditure patterns, Actual Subsistence Minimum (ASM) benchmarks and Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) results. All UCTs will remain unrestricted and unconditional to maximize dignity, flexibility and household decision-making. This approach strengthens accountability to affected people by providing consistent and predictable levels of cash assistance based on common vulnerability parameters, contextualized for each priority. As implementation advances, through evaluation, monitoring and learning, UCTs will adapt to updated needs, cost-of-living variations and socio-economic conditions across the country for the next humanitarian planning.
UCT under Strategic Priority 1 will support 838,019 people living in front-line areas, provided either as a lump sum or monthly instalments over a maximum of six months, subject to reassessment after six months. Under Strategic Priority 2, some 300,000 evacuees experiencing sudden relocation and loss of assets will receive a one-off lump-sum payment designed to cover generic needs during the first three months after evacuation. A total of 338,340 people directly impacted by strikes will receive a similar one-off payment under Strategic Priority 3 to bridge immediate generic needs stemming from physical damage and service disruptions. UCT under Strategic Priority 4 is reserved for the most vulnerable internally displaced people living in protracted displacement outside areas of active hostilities (residing 51 km or more from the front line) and outside of the social protection system. Transfer values are set per adult, child or person with disabilities and are intended to temporarily cover basic needs until they are successfully enrolled in the government’s IDP allowance or other social protection schemes. A total of 84,010 people will be assisted under this priority.
De-Duplication
Humanitarian actors will apply the de-duplication system endorsed by the Inter-cluster Coordination Group and Standard Operating Procedures to ensure an efficient, cost-effective response and to maximize the number of people reached.
Links with Social Protection Systems
UCTs are designed to align with Ukraine’s national social protection system and support exit strategies from humanitarian cash assistance. Each Strategic Priority is connected to government programmes. Across all priorities, coordination with local authorities ensures humanitarian cash fills gaps rather than replaces government assistance. These efforts aim to strengthen national systems and enable a gradual transition toward full social protection coverage where feasible. The modalities of Cash and Voucher assistance (including UCTs) will align with national system efforts as progress is made in addressing social protection needs.