Opinions – GiveDirectly

Switching to more cash aid would help millions in 2025

Michael Lillis — Fri, 23 May 2025 17:01:57 +0000

2025 is a defining moment for the humanitarian system. The scale of aid cuts facing the sector isn’t just a short-term budget challenge — it demands a fundamental rethink of how we deliver help. The efficiency of cash means it’s one of the few answers we have to the challenge in front of us. The UN’s top humanitarian official agrees, saying, “cash is not a side issue. It’s a frontline…

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Bill Gates wants to give his wealth to moms – make it cash | Washington Post

Mona Hanna and Miriam Laker-Oketta — Mon, 19 May 2025 16:15:55 +0000

Read the article in the Washington Post May 19, 2025 By Mona Hanna and Miriam Laker-Oketta Bill Gates recently pledged to give away nearly all his $200 billion in wealth by 2045, aspiring to have no mom, child or baby die from a preventable cause. As two physicians — one in Michigan, one in Uganda — we know accomplishing such a bold goal will require a powerful but…

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Deep aid cuts show cash transfers have never been more urgent | Devex

Yolande Wright — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 10:12:34 +0000

The speed of the cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development is probably the most significant shock wave to hit the sector since the start of official “Overseas Development Assistance” was classified in 1969. They are part of a wider trend — including cuts from the United Kingdom and many European donors — pushing us all to reevaluate the way forward. For years, rising aid budgets made…

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Direct cash model offers lesson in leadership & humility

Rory Stewart — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:52:42 +0000

When I was put in charge of the UK’s $20 billion global aid budget, it was easy to imagine I had “power.” I was a Secretary of State, appointed by the Queen. I had people working for me all over the world. Every day, I was asked whether I wanted to put $100 million into education in Ethiopia, or $40 million into healthcare in Nigeria? To contribute a billion dollars to a global fund on vaccines…

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What we make of null and negative results from U.S. cash programs

Camille Parker and Matt Ruby — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 21:11:08 +0000

Yolanda spent some of the monthly cash she receives through GiveDirectly’s program in Cook County, Illinois on a trip to the zoo with her grandson. “It felt good because that payment helps me be able to do those things,” she said. “So I don’t have to say to my grandson, ‘Oh, we can’t do that right now.’” Nora in Georgia used some of her monthly GiveDirectly cash to move out of a mold-infested…

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John Cena warns us against giving cash with conditions

Tyler Hall — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:27:23 +0000

A recent Amazon movie includes a scene about cash transfers, which tells an important truth about conditioning cash. John Cena’s character is right that “existing empirical evidence comparing the impact of conditional to unconditional cash transfers shows that these added costs simply do not produce commensurate benefits.” GiveDirectly exclusively delivers your donations…

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Your gift creates dignity for women

Caroline Teti — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 11:20:55 +0000

As a woman born in the rural villages of western Kenya, I watched mothers toiling to make life livable for their children, forgoing the basics to give us access to the little they could. It was not uncommon for women to go hungry or lack decent clothing to give their children a chance to eat and dress. Charities that showed up would often reinforce this desperation rather than relieve it.

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A Global Cash-Transfer Fund Could End Extreme Poverty

GiveDirectly — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 13:51:34 +0000

Cash transfers offer a transformative solution to multidimensional poverty, by enhancing dozens of outcomes simultaneously. They have already proven effective, adaptable, and replicable, and now they are becoming more attainable every year with growing mobile coverage and improved digital infrastructure. LOMÉ – For decades, the international community has grappled with the challenge of ending…

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From California to Kenya: trust people with cash

Michael Tubbs — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 21:24:15 +0000

The following is a guest post from Michael Tubbs, the founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and the former Mayor of Stockton, about his recent visit to GiveDirectly cash aid programs in Kenya. I recently had the privilege of traveling to Kenya with GiveDirectly to see firsthand some of the great work they are doing and meet many of the local people they are working with.

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Give more money directly to end extreme poverty

GiveDirectly — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:08:53 +0000

Summary Tuesday marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a U.N. observance to rally support for their number one goal and a good chance to take stock of where that goal stands.1 Poverty can mean many things, but extreme poverty has a specific definition: $2.15 per day. This line, set by the World […]