UNICEF is the largest provider of cash transfers in Gaza. But what are they? How do they work? And how effective are they?
Here, we answer all your questions about what has become one of the most innovative, efficient, and best value ways of helping vulnerable children living amid the deadly chaos.
Cash transfers are a form of humanitarian aid that provides money directly to vulnerable families in Gaza so they can buy what they need most – because it’s parents who know better than anyone what their children need.
This approach allows people to make their own decisions, restoring a sense of dignity and autonomy. While markets in Gaza have few supplies amid the restrictions and destruction, some are still partially functioning, and provide goods that may not be available to people from the most recent aid truck deliveries. This could be nappies for new-born babies, or hygiene supplies to keep wounds clean.
Since May 2024, UNICEF has implemented a digital cash transfer system using e-wallets, allowing beneficiaries to receive money securely on their phones.
This system enables people to withdraw cash or pay digitally, even with basic phones and unstable connectivity.
By putting choice back into the hands of those affected by the crisis, cash transfers provide not just aid, but empowerment.
Gaza’s families face unimaginable hardship. Destruction of infrastructure has decimated farms and businesses, while food and goods have become scarce and expensive.
As of January 2025, UNICEF has provided cash assistance to one million people – nearly 42% of Gaza’s population – including 588,000 children. The programme prioritises the most vulnerable: families with many children, female-headed households, pregnant and lactating women and those with disabilities. UNICEF also provides supports to families who have taken in children tragically separated from their parents.
Since the ceasefire, scaled-up cash transfers have played a crucial role in helping families rebuild their lives. With the ability to purchase food, medicine, and hygiene supplies, recipients can better manage their own needs.
The programme also supports frontline workers in health, education, and sanitation services, ensuring that essential services continue for the broader community. As market conditions fluctuate, cash assistance remains an adaptable and effective solution.
Help for the disabled
14-year-old Nada has a hearing impairments - as do her two sisters and her mother.
Before the war, her father Ahmed secured hearing devices for them, but they are now worn out and need replacing. Using cash assistance from UNICEF, targeted at families with disabilities, Ahmed was able to buy food, cooking gas, and clothes for his children, but his family’s challenges persist.
“I do my best to meet all the children's needs, but everything in the market is quite pricey," he said.
Cash assistance has been a lifeline for families in Gaza. Maha used the support to buy medicine for a family member with a heart condition and warm clothes for her children. Madeline, a widowed mother, purchased food, diapers, and medicine for her young children.
For Saeed, 67, who lost his wife and sons in an airstrike, cash aid has been crucial. Living in a tent with his grandchildren, he buys food and medicine for his diabetic granddaughter.
Bahaa and his extended family found life in a cold tent so unbearable that they returned to live among the rubble in their destroyed home. “Receiving this assistance is truly life-changing,” he said.
For mothers like Shahed and Alaa, cash assistance provides milk, vegetables, and diapers – essentials for their malnourished children.
“My daughter needs continuous treatment to improve her condition,” Shahed said, explaining how cash transfers have helped. She and her daughter may be living on a mattress in a tent, but they cling to each other and, thanks to cash transfers, to life.
UNICEF’s cash transfer system is designed to ensure funds reach those who need them most. Transfers are delivered through secure digital platforms, ensuring financial oversight and compliance with international regulations. Beneficiaries are carefully selected based on vulnerability criteria, and cash disbursements are monitored through real-time data collection.
Post-distribution monitoring is a key part of the programme, with surveys conducted regularly to assess effectiveness. In 2024 alone, UNICEF gathered feedback from over 16,000 respondents. By tracking market prices and recipient spending, the programme adapts to changing conditions, ensuring cash assistance remains impactful and relevant. The ability to respond quickly to inflation and supply chain disruptions makes cash transfers one of the most efficient humanitarian tools available.
Cash transfers have proven to be one of the most effective ways to support communities in crisis. Unlike aid distribution, which can be logistically complex, digital cash assistance reaches people quickly, even in volatile situations. In Gaza, UNICEF continues to refine its programme, integrating cash support with services like healthcare, education, and child protection.
As humanitarian needs evolve, digital innovation will play a crucial role in making aid more accessible and adaptable.
This means that despite the connectivity challenges, families in Gaza continue to receive and utilise cash assistance effectively.
The programme not only helps families survive but also restores agency, dignity, and resilience in times of crisis. With ongoing support from people like you, cash transfers can remain a critical tool in helping communities recover and rebuild.
Can you help children in Gaza?
Through UNICEF’s cash transfer programme, more than 1 million families have received fast, efficient support to buy essentials. Your support today can ensure even more receive the money needed to buy medicine, hygiene products and food – providing them not just with aid, but with dignity.
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