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The results of the review do not disappoint. The authors identified more than 120 cash transfer programs that were implemented between 2000 and mid-2009 in Sub-Saharan Africa. These programs have varying objectives, targeting, scale, conditions, technologies, and more. A sizable number of these programs conducted robust impact evaluations that provide important information, presented here, on the merits of cash transfer programs and their specific design features in the African context. The authors present summary information on programs, often in useful graphs, and provide detailed reference material in the appendixes. They highlight how many of the cash transfer programs in Africa that had not yet begun implementation at the time of writing will continue to provide important evaluation results that will guide the design of cash transfer programs in the region. In addition to presenting data and analysis on the mechanics of the programs, the authors discuss issues related to political economy. They highlight the importance of addressing key tradeoffs in cash transfers, political will, and buy-in, and they emphasize the need to build evidence-based debates on cash transfer programs. Useful anecdotes and discussion illustrate how some programs have dealt with these issues with varying degrees of success. This text will serve as a useful reference for years to come for those interested in large- and small-scale issues of cash transfer implementation, both in Africa and beyond. However, the book is not an end in itself. It also raises important questions that must be addressed and knowledge gaps that must be filled. Therefore, it is useful both in the information it provides and in the issues and questions it raises.

Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge compiles the latest data and viewpoints on the state of Sub-Saharan Africa's children. Topics covered include the rationale for investing in young children, policy trends in early childhood development (ECD), historical perspectives of ECD in Sub-Saharan Africa including indigenous approaches, new threats from HIV/AIDS, and the importance of fathers in children's lives. The book also addresses policy development and ECD implementation issues; presents the ECD programming experience in several countries, highlighting best practices and challenges; and evaluates the impact of ECD programs in a number of countries.

Ethiopia has made major strides in improving its human development indicators in the past 15 years, achieving significant increases in the coverage of basic education and health services in a short period of time. Imrovements took place during a period of massive decentralization of fiscal resources, to the regions in 1994 and to woredas in 2002-03. The devolutionof power and resources from the federal and regional governments to woredas appears to have improved the delivery of basic services. Surveys of beneficiaries reveal that they perceive that service coverage and quality have improved. Beneficiary satisfaction has increased markedly in education, and less conspicuously in water and health services. In the south, the decentralization to woredas 2002-03 tended to narrow differences in per capita expenditures on education and health across woredas. Decentralization disproportionately favored woredas that are remote (more than 50 kilometers from a zonal capital), food-insecure, and pastoral, suggesting that decentralization has been ppro-poor. Decentralization also narrowed the gap in educational outcomes between disadvantaged and better-off woredas, especially in the south. Pastoral, food-insecure, and remote woredas gained in terms of the educational outcomes examined (gross enrollment rates, grade 8 examination pass rates, repetition rates, pupil-teacher ratios, and teacher-section ratios).

The authors examine the challenges facing Africa's youth in their transition from school to working life, and propose a strategy for meeting these challenges. Topics covered include the effect of education on employment and income, broadening employment opportunities, and enhancing youth capabilities. Labor is the most abundant asset of poor households in Africa. Developing this asset is therefore essential to helping households move out of poverty. Strengthening the work force can also improve the investment climate, increase economic growth, and prevent instability and violence, particularly in postconflict situations, where large numbers of unemployed youth threaten security.

Early childhood, from birth through school entry, was largely invisible worldwide as a policy concern for much of the twentieth century. Children, in the eyes of most countries, were 'appendages' of their parents or simply embedded in the larger family structure. The child did not emerge as a separate social entity until school age (typically six or seven). 'Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge: Early Childhood Care and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa' focuses on the 130 million children south of the Sahel in this 0-6 age group.This book, the first of its kind, presents a balanced collection of articles written by African and non-African authors ranging from field practitioners to academicians and from members of government organizations to those of nongovernmental and local organizations. 'Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge' compiles the latest data and viewpoints on the state of Sub-Saharan Africa's children. Topics covered include the rationale for investing in young children, policy trends in early childhood development (ECD), historical perspectives of ECD in Sub-Saharan Africa including indigenous approaches, new threats from HIV/AIDS, and the importance of fathers in children's lives. The book also addresses policy development and ECD implementation issues; presents the ECD programming experience in several countries, highlighting best practices and challenges; and evaluates the impact of ECD programs in a number of countries.

On lit beaucoup de choses sur l’Afrique, souvent peu encourageantes. Au quotidien, le monde entend parler des maladies, du désespoir et de la mort. Une telle litanie de souffrances n’est pas sans fondement, mais il y a aussi des histoires d’espoir, des promesses et du potentiel. Elles aussi représentent une part très importante de l’histoire complexe de l’Afrique subsaharienne (ASS) dans les premières années du XXIème siècle. Tout comme il existe de multiples histoires, il faut donc des perspectives multiples pour comprendre, prévoir, et planifier un avenir prometteur pour les enfants africains. Ce livre vise à atteindre un équilibre en décrivant les défis qui se posent aussi bien que les développements en cours. Il cherche un équilibre des voix qui s’élèvent, il ne retient pas seulement les voix du Nord commentant sur le Sud, mais aussi les voix venant du Sud, et celles qui parlent de concert avec le Nord. Il cherche une diversité d’opinions et de valeurs. Le livre est divisé en six sections. La section 1,Contextes,ouvre le débat avec un aperçu de la situation des jeunes enfants en Afrique subsaharienne . La section 2,Perspectives sociohistoriques, offre trois perspectives sur le développement du DPE en Afrique. La section 3,Le développement de politiques, fait le point sur des études de cas qui ont eu lieu en 2000—01. La section 4,Les programmes, aborde une série d’approches qui offrent assistance aux jeunes enfants et à leurs familles. La section 5,Évaluations et recherche, offre une gamme d’approches récentes pour mieux comprendre l’impact des programmes. La section 6,résume le Défis et voies à suivre.

The Cash Dividend: The Rise of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa assimilates results of a thorough review of the recent use of cash transfer programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing from sources including program documentation, policy papers, peer-reviewed publications, and interviews, it paints a picture of the evolution and current state of cash transfers, which include unconditional and conditional cash transfers and emergency- and development-focused transfers. It presents analysis from data collected and describes broad trends in design features and implementation, including objectives, targeting, benefits, payment mechanisms, conditions, monitoring, evaluation, institutional location, program costs, and more. It also addresses political economy issues relevant to cash transfer programs, discusses the challenges to implementing cash transfer programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, and highlights lessons learned from existing African cash transfer programs. The comprehensive nature of the review, and its thorough analysis of previously unassimilated data, fills a gap in knowledge related to cash transfer programs in the region. The book is expected to benefit the donor community and domestic policymakers involved in cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa, guiding both program design and future research. It will help shift the debate on cash transfers in Africa from whether they are possible to how they can best be implemented.

By viewing nutrition as an output in a production process, policy analysis can consider a broader set of interventions that may influence nutritional outcomes. A model of the production of child nutrition based on survey & field data from Pakistan highlights the critical role of mother's education in achieving nutritional goals in rural areas. If mothers are educated to at least the primary level, the level of child wasting (a short-term indicator of child nutrition) will be reduced by almost 50%, 6 times the overall impact achieved by increasing per capita income 10%. Public health measures also prove important; eg, programs that decrease diarrhea occurrence by 1 day in any 2-week period dramatically reduce the incidence of child wasting. These findings show the need to simultaneously address health & infection concerns. 5 Tables, 1 Appendix. Modified AA