Distributing Cash Through Bank Accounts: Save the Children’s drought response in Swaziland

From November 2007 to April 2008, Save the Children conducted an emergency relief project involving 45,000 people in Swaziland.

We delivered half the aid allocation in food and the other half in cash transferred into bank accounts set up for the beneficiaries.

The decision to deliver the food/cash-through-account combination was made in accordance with international best practice on how to work against the negative effects of a growing dependence on food aid.

The intention was to give beneficiaries the ability to buy assets that would sustain them into the future and generate demand for products and services within the local economy.

On the face of it, projects of this nature could provide an innovative method of creating greater financial inclusion. Yet they are relatively new and there is still much to learn to ensure that they are successful in achieving this aim.

This case study documents the process followed by Save the Children as well as lessons from the project that could be applied in other contexts.