Shelter and Emergency Cash Relief for Vulnerable Storm Affected Households (SERV) Semi-Annual Performance Report

The project, implemented by Catholic Relief Services-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (CRS), received funding from USAID's Food Security Program and was designed to last for four months, from November 27, 2020 to March 31, 2021. The project's primary goal was to enable vulnerable Vietnamese families to meet their immediate needs, return home, and recover from the floods with safety and dignity. To achieve this, the project implemented multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) activities, which involved providing a one-off distribution of multipurpose cash to households to cover their basic needs and priorities. The project exceeded its target, assisting a total of 9,122 people, including 4,223 males and 4,899 females, and 2,671 households, which was 8% above the original target of 2,465 households. The project also conducted a rapid market assessment to understand the risks for different vulnerable groups in accessing humanitarian assistance, particularly cash support. Based on the assessment findings, the project completed a protection risk analysis and developed a mitigation plan to ensure that the programming did not harm the beneficiaries. The project adapted its activities to respond to the COVID-19 context, implementing mobile Over the Counter (OTC) and household delivery models for people with mobility issues or illnesses. The project's results showed significant improvements in the ability of households to meet their basic needs. According to the end-line assessment, 100% of households reported being able to meet "all" or "most" of their basic needs, which was a significant improvement from the baseline survey, where 82% of households reported being able to meet "some" of their basic needs. The project also exceeded its target for the indicator of households reporting that they were able to meet their basic needs, with 100% of households reporting that they were able to meet "all" or "most" of their basic needs. The project's cash distribution also had a positive impact on household expenditures for Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) items, with a remarkable increase of 30% above the project target. The project's results also showed that 100% of households used the cash assistance to buy food, 55% used it for non-food items, and 50% used it for drinking water. The project's methodology involved conducting a post-distribution monitoring (PDM) survey two weeks after the MPCA distribution, which included an in-person survey of 331 respondents. The data was analyzed in Excel and visualized in Microsoft Power BI. The project's results were calculated based on a confidence level of 95%, with a 5% margin of error and 5% contingency factor for non-response. Overall, the SERV project in Vietnam demonstrated significant improvements in the ability of households to meet their basic needs, and its results showed a positive impact on household expenditures for WASH items. The project's adaptability to the COVID-19 context and its commitment to ensuring the safety and dignity of vulnerable households were key factors in its success.