Fiji Cash Assistance Project
Save the Children Fiji, working with Save the Children Australia and Fijian government and civil-society partners, delivered unconditional digital cash assistance to nearly 39,000 vulnerable Fijian households (about 195,000 people, including 120,000 children) whose incomes were disrupted by COVID-19 and Tropical Cyclones Harold and Yasa. The entire US$20 million program was funded by a single anonymous philanthropic donor's gift to Save the Children Australia. Eligible households received Fijian-dollar payments directly into Vodafone's M-PAiSA mobile-money wallets, prioritizing families without income, single parents, pregnant women, people with disabilities or chronic illness, and survivors of gender-based violence. The project ran in two phases from December 2020 through January 2022 across Fiji's Northern, Central and Western divisions, and has since closed to new applicants.
COVID-19 Response, Mobile Money, M-PAiSA, Pacific Islands, Cyclone Recovery, Anonymous Donor, Unconditional Cash Transfer
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Save the Children Fiji
- City
- Suva
- State / Province
- Central Division
- Country
- Fiji
Contact
- Phone
- +679 331 3178
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Application status
- Timed
- Number of recipients
- 195,000
- Funding type
- Philanthropic, Nonprofit
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Total Amount
- 600
- Avg. Per Month
- 42.86
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 14 months
- Distribution Type
- Mobile Money (M-PAiSA), Digital Wallet (MyCash)
- Benefit details
Phase 1 (Dec 2020-Mar 2021) paid 14,772 households four monthly transfers of F$100 (about US$49) each via M-PAiSA, while a separate Special Needs Fund made one-off F$400 payments to 2,000 households in acute crisis. Phase 2 (Oct 2021-Jan 2022) extended assistance to a further 22,228 households, each receiving three monthly payments of F$200 (total F$600) via M-PAiSA or the MyCash wallet. Transfer values were set by Fiji's National Cash Working Group to align with the government's own social-protection payment levels. Opening an M-PAiSA account required a birth certificate, which the project reported prompted some recipients to register for one for the first time.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
To qualify, households could not already be receiving another assistance, social protection or welfare program, and had to meet at least one vulnerability criterion: no income due to COVID-19/job loss, supporting more than 5 people or more than 3 children under 5, a member with chronic illness, elderly age or disability, a pregnant or lactating woman, a survivor of gender-based violence, a single-headed household (particularly single mothers or child-headed households), or membership in a marginalized group (the project partnered with Rainbow Pride Fiji for LGBTQI+ outreach). A separate Special Needs Fund, nominated by partner Medical Services Pacific, targeted households in crisis needing emergency shelter/protection support, urgent medical care, chronic-disease management, or support for orphans and vulnerable children.
Family
- Family Status
- Single Parent, Expecting, Orphan
- Caregiver status
- Caregiver for Elderly, Caregiver for Person with Disability
Housing
- Recently laid off
- Yes
Health
- Disability status
- Yes
- Health conditions
- COVID-19, chronic illness
Financial
- Currently receiving government benefits
- Disqualifying
- Employment status
- Unemployed, Underemployed
- Banked status
- Unbanked, Underbanked
Geography
- Countries covered
- Fiji
- Counties covered
- Northern Division, Central Division, Western Division
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Optional
- Research / participation requirements
Save the Children Fiji conducted Post-Distribution Monitoring, including a survey of 264 recipient households and case studies of 8 households, on how cash was spent. An independent review commissioned in September 2021 and published as the 'Fiji Cash Assistance Project Phase 1 Review Report' (February 2022) found 95% of surveyed households spent funds on food, 49% on education, and reported reduced use of negative coping strategies and improved financial inclusion via mobile money. Participation in this monitoring was not a condition of receiving assistance.
Application Process
- How to apply
There was no open public application; eligible households were identified and referred through Save the Children's partnerships with the Fijian Government, the Fiji Council of Social Services, Medical Services Pacific, Rainbow Pride Fiji and other community-based organizations, then verified before enrollment in M-PAiSA or MyCash mobile wallets. The program is now closed and is not accepting new applicants.
- Selection process
Save the Children Fiji and Australia, working with the National Cash Working Group and implementing partners, set vulnerability criteria and transfer values, then relied on government and civil-society partners to identify, nominate and verify eligible households in the Northern, Central and Western divisions before cash was loaded onto recipients' mobile wallets.
