Cash transfers have gradually become more and more popular in the world of development. In 2022, about 23% of all humanitarian spending was delivered directly to aid recipients via cash transfer — more than $10 billion.
Even in development, where cash transfers are far less widely used than in the humanitarian sector, there was a positive body of evidence pointing to their effectiveness.
But even before the second Trump administration, there were signs that the sheen was coming off, with reports showing steep drops in 2023 and 2024.
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About the author
David Ainsworth@daveainsworth4
David Ainsworth is business editor at Devex, where he writes about finance and funding issues for development institutions. He was previously a senior writer and editor for magazines specializing in nonprofits in the U.K. and worked as a policy and communications specialist in the nonprofit sector for a number of years. His team specializes in understanding reports and data and what it teaches us about how development functions.
