Unconditional transfers

Increasing attention is being paid to unconditional cash transfers, such as social pensions, as a way of addressing poverty. Key evidence from Brazil, Namibia and South Africa has shown the importance of unconditional cash entitlements in the form of pensions in addressing poverty.

Such transfers have also been shown to address women's empowerment and economic needs. When older women receive the money directly, it increases their self-esteem and empowerment; the money which goes to women is often spent in ways that benefit the family unit, with positive spill-over effects on household nutrition and children's school attendance.