State funded financial support to poor people in low income countries was previously dismissed as too expensive to be viable, however new research conducted by the ILO has shown that a package of basic social protection measures, including a child care payment, social pension and disability allowance, is affordable even for low income countries. This session examined some of the key issues surrounding cash transfers including: How do they impact on child poverty? Which are the most effective and efficient ways to ensure they reach the poorest people: universal, targeted or conditional measures? Are countries with weak infrastructures able to deliver them? Are they sustainable, and how can they empower rather than stigmatise those who receive them?

Armando Barrientos, CPRC

Sylvia Beales, HelpAge Intl

Sonya Sultan, DFID
Chair

Tamsyn Barton, Plan UK trustee