This report, published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and UNICEF, is the third in a series of regional thematic reports produced for a study on social protection and children in West Central Africa. It focuses specifically on one kind of social protection mechanism – social assistance in the form of cash transfers – and explores how this can contribute to addressing specific risks and vulnerabilities faced by children in the region. There are still very few cash transfer programs in West Central Africa: those that exist are recent and often small-scale pilot schemes. Interest in this type of social protection is growing among policymakers in the region, however, partly as a result of positive experiences in other parts of Africa and elsewhere in the developing world.

The role of cash transfers is explored in relation to the following areas:

• Increase in monetary income
• Human capital development
• Enhanced household productivity and multiplier effects
• Reduction in child rights violations
• Reduction in inequality
• Strengthened evidence for support and sustainability

The report also highlights the specific regional challenges of implementing cash transfers to address childhood poverty.