The Impact of Cash Transfers on Livelihoods, Education, Health and HIV – What's the Evidence?

Cash transfers are a development intervention aimed at alleviating shocks from chronic poverty and inequality by reducing the risks and vulnerabilities associated with them. Implementation of cash transfer programmes is growing rapidly around the world, providing a body of evidence demonstrating the impact of cash transfers in many development sectors, including livelihoods, education and health. Cash transfers have also been effective in influencing positive outcomes for HIV prevention synergistically with other development sectors. Yet, programme effectiveness is greatly influenced by context, including issues such as conditionality, durability and political will. Nevertheless, the evidence strongly supports the effectiveness of cash transfers in leading to positive and multi-sectoral development outcomes, warranting greater use of such programmes.