More social safety net and cash transfer programs are needed to aid impoverished households amid the current financial meltdown coupled with the recent food and fuel crises, a new
report stressed. "With their focus on mothers and young people and their ability to deliver critical health and education services, conditional cash transfers are a vital safety net for countries seeking to help those hardest hit by the financial crisis," World Bank Chief Economist Justin Lin said. The global lender intends to provide some USD2.4 billion in 2009 to back conditional cash transfers in Bangladesh, Colombia, Kenya, Macedonia, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
