Enhancing child protection services by incorporating Cash-based Interventions as part of comprehensive programming

Children make up nearly half of the Syrian refugee population, and child protection is a central focus of UNHCR's response. UNHCR has launched research projects to assess how different cash assistance programs contribute to child protection outcomes and improve the well-being of refugee children and households. In 2018, UNHCR distributed over US$ 230 million in cash assistance across the MENA region, reaching one million individuals. Despite existing vulnerability assessments focusing mainly on socio-economic factors, child protection and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) risks, including child marriage, were not sufficiently prioritized. Research in Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon, launched in 2018, studied the impact of cash assistance on child protection risks, particularly in response to the increased socio-economic vulnerability of refugees due to prolonged displacement. Findings highlighted the need to strengthen child protection identification, harmonize referrals, and design cash assistance programs that are informed by protection-centered data to better protect children from exploitation, child labour, child marriage, and other risks.