10 In certain emergency situations, when regular payment mechanisms such as bank transfers are not available or where the local infrastructure has been severely damaged, emergency cash advances can be made to assist in undertaking WHO's necessary activities and critical expenses.
20 Emergency cash advances can be made to WHO staff, consultants and SSA holders with mandatory approval by the incident manager (IM) at the Headquarters (HQ) level (for HQ deployments) or by the Head of Country Office (HCO)/WHO Representative (WR).
If cash advances are required to be paid to recipients other than WHO staff, consultants and SSA holders, approval from the Regional Budget and Finance Officers or the Regional Director of Administration and Finance should be granted.
30 A finance officer should be deployed immediately following the emergency grading during the surge period to ensure that all financial transactions, including cash advances, comply with WHO's rules and regulations.
40 Emergency cash advances are usually made at the country level. They may, however, also be provided by Treasury at HQ by completing the prescribed form in FIN.SOP.X.008 Cash Advances in Emergencies to eligible members travelling for emergency missions on short notice or to guarantee cash availability for the first few days of an emergency deployment.
After 30 days, the cash modality for payments should be reviewed by the IM, along with the relevant Admin/Finance focal point on the incident management support team (IMST), to evaluate whether cards or other payment modalities that mitigate the risk associated with cash transaction are available and can be implemented as a preference over the cash transaction.
50 Electronic payments should be set up as soon as possible. If the banking system is not functional, alternative options, such as mobile phone payments, should be implemented.
60 The limits on operational cash advances per person at one time that can be approved in emergencies by IM at the HQ level (for HQ deployments) or the HCO/WR are:
- US$ 20,000 for staff
- US$ 10,000 for consultants and SSA holders
70 The responsible technical officer identifies the need for a cash advance, and a request for approval is submitted to the IM/HCO/WR.
80 Once approved, the request and written approval are forwarded to the finance assistant/Imprest focal point for processing (at the WCO/RO level). At the HQ level, the registration/reconciliation will be done by the relevant Admin/Finance focal point on the IMST.
90 The WHO country office (WCO) will provide the full cash advance within 24 hours of receiving a written request (subject to cash availability) for a cash advance.
100 Cash advance recipients must certify the Cash Advance Acknowledgement Form before receiving cash and sign the Imprest voucher upon receiving funds.
110 Cash advance recipients must submit a completed Cash Advance Disbursement Form within 30 days of returning from the mission for which funds were required. The Regional Budget and Finance Officer must approve any requests for extensions to the 30-day requirement. All disbursements must be justified and supported by documentation. Any unspent balance or unsupported or unjustified expenses should be refunded to WHO.
Note that the no-regret policy cannot be used as a justification for any lack of documentation for financial transactions or for not complying with WHO's rules and regulations.
120 A new advance can only be provided to an individual if the Cash Advance Disbursement Form for all previous advances has been duly submitted.
130 It is the additional responsibility of the recipient to ensure that cash received is safeguarded, that regular cash counts are performed, and that supporting documentation and/or invoices are retained for each transaction.
