cash transfers

I have had the privilege of living and working in West Africa for the past 15 years. In 2007, I spent several months in northern Nigeria, interviewing grain traders in cross-border markets. These markets were some of my favorite places in West Africa—bustling, chaotic, open-air markets th...

I’m a pretty big fan of cash transfers. I’ve become convinced that cash is an efficient immediate way to help the poor and very often a better alternative than other standard development interventions like training or building schools. 

In 2009, Michelle Adato and a co-author pointed out that cash transfers could add value to the HIV response, by reaching the poorest households relatively quickly. Now, a new generation of cash transfer programs in sub-Saharan Africa is reducing new infections and HIV-related risky behavior—and docu...