Social Sustainability
Unconditional Cash Transfer
Direct cash given to poor households with no conditions attached — the evidence-backed baseline of modern social protection.
Definition
An unconditional cash transfer is a regular payment to poor or vulnerable households with no behavioural conditions attached (contrast conditional transfers tied to school attendance or health visits). A large evaluation record — from Kenya's GiveDirectly experiments to national programmes — shows UCTs improve food security, assets, schooling and mental health without the predicted misuse, at low administration cost; they are now a benchmark instrument in social protection and humanitarian response.
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