Recently, IRIN reported some very positive discussions about social transfers that took place in a meeting of African leaders looking to solve problems associated with hunger and poverty.
Over the past ten years, a number of large-scale, government-funded social transfer programs have been created in the developing world. Many social transfer programs are designed to alleviate the financial burden of caring for orphaned children. Others are designed to serve as the equivalent of the American Social Security System. Still others are designed to help counteract the financial impact of a short-term illness in a family, natural disaster in a region, or a particularly bad harvest for a farmer. While the details of social transfer systems vary across national borders, they share a common purpose. Each social transfer program is designed as a poverty reduction measure.
Social transfer programs are being shown to be an effective way for even the poorest governments to make real gains in alleviating poverty. South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho boast such success stories, at a cost of approximately one percent of their national gross domestic product.
Perhaps even more encouraging is the fact that social transfer recipients are using program resources wisely. Evaluation studies show that placing real money in people’s hands is resulting in increased spending on basic needs, including food, healthcare, and education.
Social transfer programs hold special promise for improving the lives of women in the developing world, if they are properly targeted. Take the example of pension programs. Imagine how a small monthly stipend from the government could improve the situation of widows in parts of the world where women’s livelihood is still tied up in the provision of their husbands. Imagine how much these programs would strengthen the ability of young women to decide who they will or will not marry, knowing that their financial future could be secure if they did not marry. And imagine the kind of impact that would have on their freedom to speak out against harmful cultural practices and speak up for gains in equity and education.
Social transfer programs have the power to change the world. Let’s encourage our governments to get involved, either as countries managing their own social transfers or as donor nations that help defray start-up costs for struggling governments. Research has shown that women will use the money you give them not only to improve their lives, but also the lives of their families and communities. The social transfer model represents one more way that we can get money into the hands of women and empower them to change their future, and, eventually, our world.
