Cash Transfer Study Shows School Attendance Jumps When Refugee Families Receive Larger Payments
Kakuma, 1 April 2026
Research from Uganda’s Kiryandongo refugee camp reveals that giving families $1,000 in single payments dramatically improved children’s education outcomes. School absences per household dropped from 1.1 to 0.4 children missing classes, as families used the money for transport, uniforms, and fees rather than basic survival needs.
Building on Kenya’s Cash Revolution
This breakthrough research builds upon the United Nations’ revolutionary shift to cash-based interventions in Kenya’s Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee camps, where over 200,000 refugees began receiving direct financial support instead of traditional food parcels (https://kakuma.bytes.news/da637b6-cash-assistance-refugee-support/). The Uganda study provides concrete evidence that larger, less frequent payments deliver superior educational outcomes compared to smaller, regular distributions [1]. The Kiryandongo programme demonstrated that when refugee households received $1,000 per household, children missing school per household fell dramatically from 1.1 to 0.4 [1]. This represents a -63.636 percent reduction in school absences, highlighting the transformative power of substantial cash transfers on educational access.
Economic Independence Through Strategic Funding
The financial impact extended far beyond education, with refugees receiving large cash transfers experiencing a 22% increase in paid work or self-employment and a 17% increase in not relying on external assistance [1]. Perhaps most significantly, reliance on debt decreased by 38% among participating households [1]. These outcomes demonstrate that large cash transfers enable families to invest in long-term stability rather than merely surviving day-to-day challenges. Cash programmes are considered faster, cheaper, and more impactful than other aid types, with large transfers proving most effective when paired with progressive policies allowing refugees access to work, education, healthcare, and financial services [1].
Cost-Effectiveness Drives Policy Shift
The financial advantages of large cash transfers are compelling for humanitarian organisations seeking maximum impact. Cash assistance over three months is estimated to be at least 22% cheaper than traditional aid, with savings potentially rising to 44% over six months compared to other forms of assistance [1]. Moreover, cash transfers generate two to three times as much money in economic activity within a community, creating multiplier effects that benefit entire regions [1]. The US government’s pledge of $2 billion to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in December 2025 through Country-Based Pooled Funds reflects this growing recognition of cash’s effectiveness [1].
Global Expansion and Future Implementation
The success of these programmes is driving expansion across multiple regions. UNICEF Philippines is actively recruiting a Programme Officer for Cash Transfers to support emergency cash transfer implementation, with applications closing on 10 April 2026 [3]. The role involves contributing to national emergency preparedness and supporting the operational implementation of emergency cash transfers in collaboration with government stakeholders [3]. Meanwhile, the humanitarian sector continues evolving, with Country-Based Pooled Funds allocating 15% to cash and voucher assistance in 2024, though this remains below the sector average of 19.6% [1]. The research suggests that providing humanitarian assistance in a fragmented manner makes targeting less effective and more expensive, reinforcing arguments for consolidated, larger cash interventions [1].