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52 DRC / DANISH REFUGEE COUNCILWFP’s food-for-voucher programme in Kabul:The use of vouchers has been implemented by WFP in 2012 through a programme covering 19 000disabled and widows on all police departments of Kabul. Vouchers of 1250 afghanis were distributedon a monthly basis to beneficiaries in four distribution sites, over a period of six months, and could beredeemed in 66 shops identified and contracted in the neighbourhood of the areas of residence ofbeneficiaries. The choice of implementation of vouchers was perceived as more adequate in Kabuldue to the accessibility and size of the market, and the availability of banking networks. An agreementwas concluded with four branches of Kabul bank to open special encashment centres for traders tocash the amount of the voucher.“Security, for instance is not an issue with vouchers. We may face more challenges in terms ofsecurity with in-kind. Our trucks were attacked and food looted. Vouchers: nobody can misuse them.Each beneficiary has a ration card. At the start of the project, we distribute ration cards. They take itwith the voucher to the shop to make sure the person was the right one. The card is punched. But weneed to make sure the shopkeepers are not cheating them, because they are illiterate, charge themmore or do not give them the right amount of food for the value of their voucher. We had monitors onthe sites. In Soudan, there was a lot of overcharging. Beneficiaries didn’t understand the entitlements:the shopkeepers would give less food or poor quality. We had established a committee withrepresentatives of beneficiaries, traders and our partners. We met on a regular basis and discussedsuch issues. If beneficiaries complain, we do assessments and WFP had the right to terminate thecontract. We had a specific contract for each trader” – WFP Area Manager, Kabul.Mobile cash transfers: Innovative practices such as mobile transfers could present analternative option to Hawala. Findings form the quantitative survey further showed 61% ofhouseholds have at least one mobile, 13% have two, and 2% 3 or more. However, 24% ofrespondents mentioned no member of their households owned a mobile phone, and 91%reported no women in the household possessed one. In the perspective of targetingwomen, distribution of mobile phones might need to be considered. The highest obstacleto the transfer of cash through M-PAISA in KIS would be the lack of documentation papers,a key requirement for receiving cash at M- PAISA centres. A first step would be to develop acustomized system with Roshan, who has been the main provider of M-PAISA (Afghanversion of M-PESA) since 2008, or alternatively with Etisalat (with M’HAWALA). Exploringcommunity networks of solidarity and assessing the degree of trust between members ofhouseholds and community members owning documentation papers could be an option.Direct Distribution: Given the accessibility of the KIS, handing out money directly throughNGO staff or implementing partner might be considered as a viable option. Along with theuse of Hawala system, direct cash transfer is the current preferred way of transferringmoney employed by NGOs implementing cash transfers in Afghanistan. However, insituation of increasing instability, cash transfers have been identified as a secure way ofproviding assistance. As underlined in the next section, mitigating risks of cash distributioncan ensure higher levels of security for staff than in-kind transfers, due to the low visibilityof cash as compared to in-kind.The volatile security concern in Afghanistan raises high concern about the risks associated withdistribution of cash. Though in many ways, in-kind distribution faces its own risks due to highvisibility, cash remains highly sensitive. Considering both “internal” and “external” factors, asmentioned by the above quoted Cash Learning Coordinator, the existence of automatic and robustdelivery mechanisms is crucial to preventing risks associated with distribution 44 Practicalrecommendations and current practices mentioned by agencies involved in cash-based approachesin Afghanistan include:44 FARRINGTON J., HARVEY P., SLATER R., (2005), Cash Transfers in the Context of Pro-Poor Growth, ODI, London.