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Cash Transfers for Vulnerable Children in Kenya: From Political Choice to Scale Up

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Alviar

    (UNICEF Ethiopia)

  • Roger Pearson

    (UNICEF Ethiopia)

Abstract

During the course of the Kenya 2002 parliamentary elections, UNICEF launched a media campaign advocating for the removal of primary school fees and for a cash child benefit targeted towards the poorest families. The first major policy change made by the incoming Government of Kenya, within days of taking power, was to make primary school free. The Government also opened up space to discuss the introduction of a child benefit. UNICEF supported discussions around what it would cost to apply a child benefit in a number of different arenas, notably the newly set up parliamentary orphans and vulnerable children committee. UNICEF also supported a small-scale pre-pilot programme to support the policy debate and provided a first-hand look at what a cash transfer programme meant in practice, in testing existing capacities for implementation, and in applying lessons for future scale-up. The test areas in three very different parts of Kenya – poor urban, pastoralist, and low income, high HIV-rate agricultural – proved useful in showcasing the concept and for learning lessons for scale-up, and supported decisions to move to a full-scale pilot programme.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Alviar & Roger Pearson, 2009. "Cash Transfers for Vulnerable Children in Kenya: From Political Choice to Scale Up," Working papers 0902, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy.
    • Handle: RePEc:uce:wpaper:0902
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    File URL: http://www.unicef.org/socialpolicy/files/Postscript_Formatted_PPCI_cash_transfers_in_Kenya_Final_Dec_15.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Prifti, Ervin & Estruch, Elisenda & Daidone, Silvio & Davis, Benjamin, 2019. "How much is too much: Does the size of income support transfers affect labor supply?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 179-196.
    2. Barrientos, Armando & Nino-Zarazua, Miguel, 2010. "Social Assistance in Developing Countries Database Version 5.0," MPRA Paper 20001, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Rodríguez, Luis C. & Pascual, Unai & Muradian, Roldan & Pazmino, Nathalie & Whitten, Stuart, 2011. "Towards a unified scheme for environmental and social protection: Learning from PES and CCT experiences in developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2163-2174, September.
    4. Lavers, Tom & Hickey, Sam, 2021. "Alternative routes to the institutionalisation of social transfers in sub-Saharan Africa: Political survival strategies and transnational policy coalitions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

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