Living on 50 cents a dayAbout 60% of households in Kakuma were fully dependent on humanitarian aid to survive. In Kakuma, shopkeepers often extend food on credit to refugees, using aid cards on which refugees receive aid as collateral. First, for donors: Humanitarian aid is not optional; it is a necessity. Abrupt funding cuts can devastate lives, and mechanisms are needed to protect humanitarian assistance from sudden withdrawals, such as pooled funding, contingency reserves, or multi-year commitments. If budgets must shrink, the axe should not fall on humanitarian aid.