South Sudan - Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance: Guidance Note

Introduction

MPCA is a basic need intervention, a multi-sectoral tool and dignified assistance approach. It is one of the few types of aid in South Sudan that helps to meet the need of crisis affected people and that enables actors to work collectively across the response. MPCA is a designed package of unrestricted and unconditional cash assistance aimed at addressing an individuals or households ‘basic and recovery needs. Members of the Cash Working Group (CWG) agreed in harmonizing the MPCA approach and its components. This helped in providing efficient and consistent assistance among humanitarian organizations.

With the approval of the MPCA integration guideline in the HNRP by the IASC in 2024, MPCA is known to be a standalone activity. MPCA approach can vary depending on the type of programming by continuing addressing humanitarian needs, playing an essential role in supporting (re)integration and transition to durable solutions, can be linked with Social Protection, and can support addressing the emerging climate change risks.

The South Sudan CWG agreed in updating the guidelines with more flexibility in the harmonised components, to easy the needed adjustments considering the different approaches where MPCA can be integrated. In this regard, this guideline aims to provide considerations and recommendations, rather than a single harmonisation approach, to design MPCA activities with different lends.