---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP)…"
description: "\"“The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), which compared ‘food versus cash’ in four countries, found that in three of the four – Ecuador, Uganda and Yemen ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/guy-standing-4017_civil-war_the-un-s-world-food-programme-wfp-which_1446309.jpg"
---

#  The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), which compared ‘food…

![“The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), which compared ‘food versus cash’ in four countries, found that in three of the four – Ecuador, Uganda and Yemen (before the civil war) – cash transfers led to better nutrition at lower cost, meaning many more people could be helped for the same outlay. (In the…” quote by Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/guy-standing-4017_civil-war_the-un-s-world-food-programme-wfp-which_1446309.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/guy-standing-4017_civil-war_the-un-s-world-food-programme-wfp-which_1446309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d1f/guy-standing-4017_civil-war_the-un-s-world-food-programme-wfp-which_1446309.jpg)

> ““The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), which compared ‘food versus cash’ in four countries, found that in three of the four – Ecuador, Uganda and Yemen (before the civil war) – cash transfers led to better nutrition at lower cost, meaning many more people could be helped for the same outlay. (In the fourth, Niger, severe seasonal food shortages meant that in-kind deliveries improved dietary diversity more than cash.)54 This has led the WFP to put more emphasis on cash transfers; today, just over a quarter of WFP’s aid globally is cash-based.””

[Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Cash assistance can improve nutrition more cheaply than food aid in many contexts, though not all.

**In simple terms:** Cash often works better than food aid.

Key Takeaway

Consider cash aid where markets function.

Themes

humanitarian aid nutrition economics

Mood

analytical pragmatic

Type

policy evaluation

When to use this quote

- post‑conflict recovery
- urban poverty relief
- emergency response
- development projects

Key Concepts

cash transfers cost‑effectiveness food security

Questions to Reflect On

- How do local market conditions affect cash aid outcomes?
- When should food aid be preferred?

A Different Perspective

In areas with market failures, cash may be insufficient or cause inflation.

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[Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

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