The author argues that while scaling-up aid is urgently needed, macroeconomic policies must also be accommodative.

Cash transfer programmes are emerging as indispensable component of poverty reduction strategies. The objectives of alleviating short-term poverty and long-term human capital building are what make cash transfers, particularly conditional ones, attractive. In Latin America, where cash transfers are widely implemented, impact evaluations show significant positive impacts. Improved nutritional intakes, access to health and education as well as reduction in poverty and inequality are observed. The more...

Access to financial services is still very limited in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite raising awareness of the role that financial services play in helping poor families manage their precarious lives. With just 1 in 5 households with access to formal financial services, the Sub-Saharan African suffers from one of the lowest rates of access in the world.

A recent CGAP survey found that while funders enthusiastically support access to finance to improve the lives of Africa’s, but there are geog more...