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36-473: CVA may refer to: Cash and Voucher Assistance , a type of humanitarian aid program Cash and Voucher Assistance Together, these methods form the cornerstone of CVA strategies. While they operate differently—with cash transfers providing broad flexibility and vouchers ensuring focused support—both aim to deliver efficient and effective aid that empowers recipients and meets their immediate needs during crises. According to data reported in 'The State of

72-514: A 'Grand Bargain' between aid funders and humanitarian organisations, committing to "get more means into the hands of people in need"; the third workstream of the bargain, led by the UK and the World Food Program is concerned with increasing the use and coordination of cash-based programming. The UN Secretary-General called for cash to be the default method of support for crisis-affected people where

108-475: A Policy Director for Humanitarian Aid, she pioneered civil-military cooperation with the European External Action Service (EEAS) to enhance the protection of civilians in emergencies. In 2016, Fink-Hooijer was appointed Director-General of DG Interpretation , the largest interpreting service in the world and the only Directorate-General operating on an entrepreneurial model, functioning as

144-420: A fee-based service provider for various EU institutions and agencies, and comprising both statutory and freelance staff. Under her leadership, the first-ever Knowledge Centre on Interpretation (KCI) was established and she emphasized the need to "future-proof" interpretation services through the integration of new technologies and Artificial Intelligence . Subsequently, she drove forward the digitalization of

180-569: A growth of state-funded CCT in the Global South , the evidence is suggestive of the efficacy of cash transfers to the poor, and the case for such transfers is compelling. In 2012, Florika Fink-Hooijer introduced cash-based aid as well as gender and age sensitive aid as part of the European Commission 's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations . The 2016 World Humanitarian Summit inaugurated

216-574: A key deliverable under the European Green Deal , further solidifying her role as a global advocate for nature-based solutions and smarter resource management . In her capacity as Director-General for Environment, Fink-Hooijer also oversaw the revision of the Environmental Crime Directive (entered into force on 20 May 2024), setting new standards for environmental protection through criminal law and minimum rules with regards to

252-639: A key role in shaping the European Patent Convention and introduced significant policy advancements in copyright , e-commerce and data protection for the digital age. Between 2000 and 2010, Fink-Hooijer held various middle management positions, first in the Directorate-General for External Relations (RELEX) (the predecessor of the European External Action Service ), and later in the Secretariat-General . During this period, she

288-662: A proportion of total international humanitarian assistance, the increase appears more modest, from 20.3% in 2020 to 20.6% in 2022, which is an incremental rise of 0.3% a figure that CALP assessed could potentially rise to 30–40% if utilized wherever feasible and appropriate. In humanitarian aid, the evolution of terminology has been crucial in clarifying the nature and scope of financial assistance. Initially, terms like 'Cash Transfer Programming' (CTP) and 'Cash Based Assistance' (CBA) were broadly used to encompass both cash transfers and voucher systems. However, this usage often caused confusion, as it didn't distinctly differentiate between

324-590: A significant role in strengthening the EU Civil Protection Mechanisms , enhancing their coordination with humanitarian aid in crisis situations. By 2012, Fink-Hooijer had become the first Policy Director in the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations , where she managed responses to such crisis as the Ebola outbreak (2013-2016) and maritime incidents ( Maritime Incident Response Group). She substantially advanced

360-582: Is a Senior EU official at the European Commission . She leads the Directorate-General for the Environment , which under her helm became a trailblazer for advancing the green transformation under the European Green Deal . Florika Fink-Hooijer joined the European Commission in 1990 and has held various high level and senior management posts in the area of external (bilateral) policy as well as foreign and security policy , humanitarian aid , disaster risk reduction and environmental protection . Fink-Hooijer

396-483: Is exemplified by the innovative Batteries Regulation (entered into force on 17 August 2023) and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (entered into force on 18 July 2024), both of which promote sustainability principles such as mandatory minimum recycled content. Recognizing the link between climate change and biodiversity loss , Fink-Hooijer prioritized initiatives to halt biodiversity decline, leading to

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432-530: The Directorate-General for Environment . In this role, she has been a key architect of the transformative environmental and green economic agenda under the European Green Deal , with a focus on circular economy , biodiversity , and zero pollution . Her leadership has laid the foundations for a green industrial policy within the Single Market , including the creation of a market for secondary raw materials to reduce dependence on critical raw materials. This

468-464: The English Poor Laws . However in international humanitarian aid, the traditional approach to emergency relief has tended to be the provision of in-kind assistance. Hanlon et al document a paradigm shift from the early 2000s, away from paternalistic attitudes to aid giving characterised by concerns about regulation and 'good governance', towards direct funding in cash of aid recipients. As with

504-798: The Kimberly Process Certification Scheme on conflict diamonds, she led the implementation of this pioneering crisis management tool across the EU and globally. Later, Fink-Hooijer managed bilateral relations with Northeast and Southeast Asia and was pivotal in shaping the Monitoring and Certification Mechanism for Bulgaria and Romania , which later evolved into the European Rule of Law Mechanism applicable to all EU Member States. In 2010, Fink-Hooijer became Head of Cabinet for Vice-President Kristalina Georgieva during her tenure as

540-549: The United States Department of State and Caritas Internationalis as an effective, efficient, and appropriate method of aid; Plan International has committed to asking "why not cash?" in the design of its humanitarian responses. The UN World Food Programme , the world's largest humanitarian agency, disbursed US$ 3.3B in 2020 via CVA – 37% of its total assistance. The Council of the European Union in 2015 endorsed

576-698: The Université de Lausanne . She went on to complete a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in International and Comparative Law from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel . Subsequently, she obtained a Ph.D. in copyright law from the Free University of Berlin , with a dissertation focusing on the subject of immediate termination in copyright contract law. Prior to joining the European Commission, she worked at

612-640: The Cabinet of Monika Wulf-Mathies , the Commissioner responsible for EU Regional Policy . In this role, she was instrumental in developing the pre-accession instruments as part of the Agenda 2000 initiative and handled broader legal and institutional affairs. From 1999, Fink-Hooijer served in the Cabinet of Commissioner Frits Bolkestein , who was responsible for the Internal Market and Financial Services. She played

648-608: The EU's role in humanitarian aid and disaster risk reduction by introducing cash-based aid systems (as opposed to traditional in-kind aid delivery), promoting gender- and age-sensitive aid approaches , and advocating for international humanitarian law . She also established a multifaceted early warning system, created the EU's first Disaster Knowledge Centre , and helped set up the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps to build local capacity and resilience in disaster-affected communities. Additionally, as

684-576: The World's Cash 2023', which is created by the CALP Network (CALP), there has been an observed increase in the volume of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) in the humanitarian sector. From the year 2020 to 2022, the volume grew from approximately US$ 6.6 billion to US$ 10 billion. However, this growth in CVA volume also coincides with an overall increase in humanitarian funding during the same period. When examining CVA as

720-791: The definition of criminal offences and penalties. Under her leadership, further progress has been made toward a toxic-free environment through groundbreaking initiatives on air, water, soil, and chemicals, such as the updated Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0) (entered into force on 4 August 2024), the Zero Pollution Action Plan (adopted on 12 May 2021) and the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (adopted on 14 October 2020), providing regulatory predictability for industry, stimulating industrial competitiveness, and fostering investment in sustainable clean-tech solutions. Additionally, Fink-Hooijer has become

756-509: The distribution of cash in-hand; the use of a range of e-cash technologies including mobile-phone based money (mobile money), e-wallets, pre-paid debit cards, or access to money via ATM machines; and the distribution of paper or e-vouchers exchangeable for goods and services. Florika Fink-Hooijer Directorate-General for the Environment Directorate-General for Interpretation Florika Fink-Hooijer (born 1962)

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792-574: The first Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. In this capacity, she spearheaded the creation of the European Emergency Response Coordination Centre , which coordinates the delivery of humanitarian aid and civil protection assistance in crisis-, conflict- or disaster-stricken regions, both within and outside the EU, including at the request of the United Nations . She also played

828-428: The general term was changed to 'Cash and Voucher Assistance' (CVA) post-2018 to more accurately encapsulate both modalities. While humanitarian cash working groups may provide guidance on vouchers in some contexts, it's often different sectoral humanitarian clusters that manage voucher systems due to their sector-specific objectives. This distinction ensures that both cash transfers and vouchers are used effectively to meet

864-403: The immediate and direct support characteristic of CVA, which is targeted at addressing the critical needs of individuals and communities in the throes of a crisis. The provision of aid by the transfer of cash or cash-substitutes is not novel, and can be traced back to at least 100BCE. Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) have existed within western countries since at least the 17th century, such as

900-600: The introduction of the first-ever Nature Restoration (entered into force on 18 August 2024) and Soil Health (proposed on 5 July 2023) Laws and the EU's pioneering anti-Deforestation Regulation (entered into force on 29 June 2023). She also guided the EU's negotiations for the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework , adopted by the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 19 December 2022, and

936-623: The law firms of Nordemann, Vinck & Hertin in Berlin , and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek in The Hague . Fink-Hooijer began her career as a European civil servant in the European Commission in 1990. Her initial roles included positions as an administrator in the Internal Market and External Policies departments, as well as in the Secretariat-General, where she contributed extensively to EU policy documentation. In 1995, Fink-Hooijer joined

972-468: The service by introducing features like automatic speech recognition and other support services to interpreters. During the COVID-19 pandemic , Fink-Hooijer swiftly scaled up multilingual interpretation for hybrid meetings via digital platforms, a "watershed moment" that ensured the continued relevance of interpretation services even in fully remote settings. In 2020, Fink-Hooijer became Director-General of

1008-407: The situation allows. In 2020, CALP , a nonprofit membership organization concerned with capacity building in humanitarian cash and voucher assistance, has issued two 'state of CVA' reports, most recently in 2020 . They document that the value of CVA has grown from US$ 2B in 2015, representing 7.9% of development aid, to US$ 5.6B in 2019 representing 17.9% of aid. CVA is identified by funders such as

1044-434: The term CVA is not typically used to describe longer-term economic recovery or development initiatives. This includes livelihood activities such as providing business grants to micro and small enterprises, village grants, or implementing poverty-focused programs. These activities are oriented towards sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation over a longer term. In common humanitarian terminology, these are distinct from

1080-478: The total budget in 2016 to 34% in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, technology providers, such as through the GSMA Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation programme, have responded to the opportunity of CVA by developing partnerships with providers, and by working with the wider aid community to promulgate CVA knowledge and solutions. Cash and Voucher Assistance is an umbrella term for a range of aid activities characterised by

1116-403: The transfer of cash, cash-equivalent or goods and services equivalent resources directly to aid recipients. CVA has also been called, variously, Cash Based Intervention (CBI), Cash Based Assistance (CBA) and Cash Transfer Programming (CTP). Plan International identify a number of forms of CVA including: Benefits and advantages of CVA are identified as including: Mechanisms for CVA include

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1152-697: The two, despite their differing operational methodologies and impacts. Cash transfers generally provide recipients with direct financial resources, offering them the autonomy to address their diverse and immediate needs. This modality is valued for its flexibility and broad applicability in various crisis contexts. On the other hand, voucher systems are typically more targeted, allowing recipients to exchange them for specific goods or services. These are often closely aligned with sectoral objectives within humanitarian clusters such as health, WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), or shelter, and are tailored to address specific needs in these areas. Recognizing these differences,

1188-490: The use of cash transfers, finding "significant scope for increasing the use of multi-purpose cash-based assistance in humanitarian responses, depending on the context". The European Union, through its Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations committed to deliver 35% of humanitarian assistance in the form of cash transfers under the Grand Bargain, and has achieved an increase from 24% of

1224-565: The varied needs of affected populations, making humanitarian responses more efficient and targeted. It is equally important to clarify what falls outside the scope of CVA, as commonly understood in humanitarian terminology. CVA does not encompass financial transactions such as payments to governments, remittances, or microfinance activities. These are separate categories of financial interactions, serving different purposes often related to long-term economic development or structural financial support, rather than direct crisis response. Additionally,

1260-692: Was born in Darmstadt , West Germany , and raised in West Berlin . She is the second of three children born to Dr. Bertold Fink, a supreme court judge at the Federal Administrative Court of West Germany (Bundesverwaltungsgericht), and Margret Fink (originally Witte), a senior business teacher (Gewerbeoberstudienrätin). Fink-Hooijer pursued her legal studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and at

1296-536: Was instrumental in the establishment of the EU's first civilian crisis management missions, including police, monitoring, training, and protection operations. Additionally, she played a central role in the creation of early EU military structures and contributed to the development of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) . As the EU's chief negotiator for

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