Northeast Nigeria Cash Working Group: Terms of Reference (June 2024)

CONTEXT:

Nigeria is currently grappling with a severe financial crisis marked by significant challenges such as soaring inflation, a liquidity shortage, and diminishing humanitarian funding. The implementation of fiscal policies and directives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) aimed at addressing fraud and money laundering has inadvertently affected providers of humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA). Economic reforms, including the Naira redesign and the removal of fuel subsidies, have contributed to the escalation of inflation, with rates nearing 30% as of February 2024. This volatile financial landscape is disproportionately impacting communities in northeast Nigeria already at crisis levels of food insecurity. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the BAY states are encountering ongoing insecurity and uncertainty due to the closure of IDP camps initiated by the Borno State government in 2023, necessitating their return to their places of origin.

PURPOSE:

The Northeast Nigeria CWG aims to effectively coordinate the delivery of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) across the BAY states; namely Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states. It seeks to maximize resources, avoid duplications, address unmet needs, increase effectiveness, and ensure programmatic coherence. The CWG systematically integrates CVA including sectoral cash through technical advice to sectors, in addition to overall oversight of multipurpose cash transfers MPCA, into humanitarian responses and preparedness plans.