To respond to the challenge of stubbornly high rates of poverty, a lack of social safety nets, and low levels of human capital in the Philippines, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) designed a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program in 2006. Innovative in Southeast Asia, the program was modeled after similar successful programs in Latin America, such as Mexico’s Oportunidades, Brazil’s Bolsa Familia, and Colombia’s Familias en Accion. CCTs provide cash grants to poor families on the condition that they make human capital investments.

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Gender-Sensitive Social Protection

Although cited as one of the great success stories of development reaching large groups of the poor, social protection has been critiqued as gender-blind. This is despite decades of experience showing that the feminization of poverty and gender inequality is a major driver of poverty and that women’s empowerment contributes to poverty alleviation. This paper will illustrate the importance of a gender lens in social protection and highlight how gender-blind social protection policies risk entrenching gender inequalities.

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Despite significant development gains in recent decades, developing countries still face considerable challenges in regards to the fight against poverty and hunger. Redistributive cash transfer programmes have emerged as vital for the pursuit of poverty reduction and eradication; however, critics have expressed concerns that such social grants could lead to dependency among beneficiaries, dissuade them from seeking work, or reinforce traditional gender roles.

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