Cash plus programmes for children and families in eastern and southern Africa: examples from practice and lessons learnt

Cash transfer programmes for children and families are still evolving in the African context. They are mostly unconditional and not linked to a supportive service infrastructure. To optimise the developmental effects of cash transfers beyond meeting solely the material needs of vulnerable children, there is a resurgence of interest in new modalities of delivery of cash transfers plus services to improve child well-being outcomes. This chapter documents innovative cash plus programmes in South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique regarding their rationale, goals and programme design features. It identifies different combinations and models of delivery, including combining cash transfers with health, nutrition, psychosocial support and family-strengthening interventions. The additional components offered proved to be feasible to implement, but more practice-based research is needed on what works and for which groups of children and families. Strong partnerships, intersectoral collaboration, adequate levels of human resources and staff capacity development are critical to successful scalability.