Are cash transfer programmes effective at targeting people experiencing poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Cash transfer programmes (CTPs) have widely been implemented in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to help reduce the growing incidence of inequality and vulnerability. This notwithstanding, researchers have pointed out that the attainment of the objectives of such interventions has been dramatically undermined by ineffective targeting, unsustainable funding, and irregular payment cycles, among others. This article focuses on the issue of poor targeting. It undertakes a critical review to answer the question of whether CTPs are effective at targeting the poor and vulnerable in SSA. The analysis relies on published empirical papers on CTPs in databases such as Sage, Springer, Wiley, JSTOR, Taylor and Francis, ScienceDirect, and Elsevier. A total of 365 relevant publications were first retrieved from the databases, but this was reduced to 66 after screening for issues and geographical relevance (SSA) and deleting database duplications. The review categorised the targeting effectiveness of CTPs into three: effective, moderately effective, and less effective. It concludes that most of the CTPs in SSA are moderately effective at targeting people experiencing poverty. The review shows that the implementation of CTPs in many countries in SSA is confronted with significant leakages and undercoverage attributed mainly to the targeting mechanisms used as well as political interferences, corruption, and operational inefficiencies. This article argues that a multi-targeting approach with strict enforcement is critical in minimising targeting errors. In this regard, policymakers and implementers ought to institute thoughtful policy design and, especially, solid technocratic capacity to ensure that targeting processes are near perfection.