Guidance Note on Cash for Protection - Ethiopia Protection Cluster

Ethiopia faces overlapping humanitarian crises, including conflict-driven displacement, climate shocks, and economic instability, which have eroded public services and weakened social support systems. These conditions have heightened protection risks, leaving vulnerable groups, such as women and girls, persons with disabilities, and older people, exposed to violence, coercion and deprivation. With one of the largest internally displaced populations and being the third-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, access to protection services remains limited. The breakdown of community structures and law enforcement has further contributed to increased violations, while survivors of violence, coercion and deprivation, including survivors of GBV, struggle to access medical care, psychosocial support, legal aid, and safe shelter. 

Cash assistance has emerged as a flexible and effective assistance modality in Ethiopia’s humanitarian response. This approach empowers individuals to make choices that reflect their needs, supporting self-protection, recovery, and autonomy. Cash can help prevent and respond to protection risks such as child labor, forced / child marriage, and survival sex, and facilitate access to documentation and safe accommodation. Compared to in-kind assistance, cash is often more responsive and adaptable to individual circumstances. Implementing cash-for-protection interventions in Ethiopia, however, faces several challenges, including the absence of standardized guidance / procedures, limited awareness of the urgency and sensitivity of protection risks including GBV incidents, and the need to align with survivor-centered approaches and organizational financial policies. The time-critical nature of protection cases further highlights the importance of a coordinated and consistent response. 

To address these gaps, the Ethiopian National Protection Cluster has developed guidelines that outline objectives, principles, eligibility criteria, modality of implementation, payment procedures, and roles and responsibilities. These guidelines provide a practical framework for humanitarian actors to deliver timely, appropriate, and dignified support. The ultimate goal is to ensure that cash-for-protection interventions are effective, accountable, and survivor-centered, thereby improving safety and protection outcomes for individuals at risk.