Assistance to people in emergencies can sometimes be appropriately provided in the form of cash, enabling people to decide for themselves what they most need and to buy it in local markets. The debate around the appropriate use of cash in emergencies has often been framed, as it is here, as one between cash and food.
It is important to remember that cash is not just an alternative to food aid but to all forms of in-kind assistance. However, as food aid often dominates humanitarian responses, deciding when cash is appropriate as an alternative or complement to food aid is clearly important.