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Distribute Cash, not COVID-19: Five Ways Policymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa Can Provide Cash Transfers Safely
As COVID-19 spreads around the world, 35 countries have introduced new cash transfer programs in response to the pandemic. Cash is one of the most effective ways to support people during a crisis, say Martin Gould and Nate Vernon at IDInsight. But administering cash transfers in low-income countries can raise some big questions for policymakers. They discuss five ways governments in sub-Saharan Africa can manage these programs safely and effectively.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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Cash is replacing other forms of aid, even in conflict zones
Giving cash to poor people is not a new idea. The UN sends money direct to bank accounts it sets up for Syrian refugees in Jordan; many countries use cash transfers as part of their social safety nets. What is new is donors’ willingness to give out cash in war zones.
- Categories
- Finance
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Giving poor people cash is a good idea. Giving entrepreneurs cash might be a great one
As the country’s population continues to grow—the median age of in the country is only 18—the economy is struggling to create jobs at a sufficiently fast pace.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Which Foreign Aid Programs Work? The U.S. Runs A Test — But Won’t Talk About It
Handel wasn't ready to propose completely scrapping traditional programs in favor of cash aid. But at the very least it seemed reasonable to make sure that any given traditional program produced more benefits than simply giving people an equivalent amount in cash. In other words, he wanted to use cash aid as the benchmark by which all other forms of aid are judged.
- Region
- North America
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Viewpoint: Is Cash Better for Poor People Than Conventional Foreign Aid?
U.S.A.I.D., the American foreign aid agency, is conducting a trial that measures the impact when poor people abroad are simply given money with which to decide what’s best for themselves.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Kenya mobile phone firms to offer cross-network cash transfers
Subscribers of Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom will be able to transfer and receive cash from one mobile network to another, the companies said in a joint statement published in the Business Daily newspaper.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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How Incorporating Behavioral Science into Cash Transfer Programs Is Changing Lives
More than $200 million in direct cash payments is distributed daily to fight poverty in over 120 developing countries. Evidence shows that the programs are working – but there is new pressure on them to enhance their effectiveness. Josh Martin and Laura Rawlings discuss how ideas42 and the World Bank, with funding from the Global Innovation Initiative, are leveraging behavioral science to help families make the most effective use of cash payments to achieve their goals.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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International remittances to exceed $600bn in 2018
The World Bank estimates that global remittances will grow by 3.4% to $616 billion in 2018. Sub-Saharan Africa, with an average cost of 9.1%, remains the highest-cost region, it says.
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