Some MFIs are finding ways to team up with existing safety net programs in hopes of making themselves at least indirectly useful to the poorest. Some safety net and grant programs are deliberately providing financial training and information to their clients so that their clients can subsequently link with MFIs. In other words, people who benefit from safety net programs may "graduate" to become full-fledged microfinance clients. This Focus Note discusses two basic models of linkages between MFIs and safety net programs.
CGAP Focus Note #34.
This paper examines how social protection can be used to protect children and families affected by HIV and AIDS, and specifically, how well cash transfers can fare with respect to securing basic subsistence and reducing poverty, while also protecting the human capital of children - specifically, their education, health and nutrition. The paper reviews evidence to date on the impacts of programs under different designs, and reviews key policy debates that accompany decisions about whether to adopt cash transfers and how to design them to be responsive to the context of HIV and AIDS. In particular, it examines systems, experiences and dilemmas of targeting, and the debate on conditionality, i.e. whether cash transfers should be conditioned on beneficiaries' participation in education and health services.
Download the paper brief and key findings here, or download the full paper below.
