Poverty in Focus, Number 15

Poverty in Focus is a regular publication of the International Poverty Centre (IIPC). Its purpose is to present the results of research on poverty and inequality in the developing world. Support is provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation.
According to the 2005 un Report on the World Social Situation "income transfer programmes that sustain the poorest families are essential to changing the structure of opportunities and are key to reducing the intergenerational transmission of poverty and inequality". In the same year, the UN Economic Commission for Africa recognised the value of cash transfers in tackling extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Commission promised resources of up to US$ 2 billion a year, an amount that was to rise to US$ 6 billion a year by 2015.
Give the growing popularity of cash transfers, the articles in this issue of Poverty in Focus draw attention to the conditional cash transfer programmes (CCTs) in Latin America and Social transfers in Africa.