Tackling children's economic and psychosocial vulnerabilities synergistically: How well is the Palestinian National Cash Transfer Programme serving Gazan children?

Cash transfers are an increasingly popular approach to poverty and vulnerability reduction, including, more recently, in humanitarian contexts. In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the National Palestinian Cash Transfer Programme provides quarterly payments to extremely poor households. As of September 2013, it reached 57,449 households in Gaza and 48,229 in the West Bank — a total of 105,678. While there is robust international evidence on the positive effects of cash transfers in terms of children's access to basic education and health services, much less is known about the linkages between cash transfers and effects on children's right to protection from exploitation, abuse and neglect. This article draws on mixed methods primary research undertaken in Gaza in 2013 to explore these linkages, paying particular attention to transfer effects on caregiver resources and time use, parental interactions with children and children's psychosocial wellbeing at household, school and community levels. It also reflects on the strengths and weaknesses of service providers working on social protection and child protection in order to identify how better to tackle child protection deficits through the government's broader economic-strengthening efforts.