"Direct transfers have been targeting aid
at some of the most impoverished and vulnerable people in
developing countries. The transfers show clear immediate benefits
including reduced hunger and raised incomes. The Department must
now get a firmer grip on the efficiency of its chosen transfer
approaches"
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 9
November 2011
Directly providing international aid to the
most poor and vulnerable people is showing clear and immediate
benefits, according to the National Audit Office.
The Department for International Development
is successfully using such transfers to reach particularly
impoverished populations in challenging places. The transfers –
usually in the form of cash payments, food transfers or
agricultural assets, such as livestock – typically reach their
recipients more quickly and transparently than more widely
prevalent ways of delivering aid. Today’s report points out that
transfer programmes are demonstrating important characteristics of
good value for money but the Department remains under-informed on
some key elements of cost-effectiveness. Therefore, the Department
has not optimised value for money.
The transfer of aid to poor households has
resulted in clear short-term benefits, for example in relation to
improved diet or investment. Of the programmes we examined five out
of seven stated objectives showed positive change, the other two
were mixed. There is also some evidence for longer-term effects in
the form of improved livelihoods, health and education, where
measured and where programmes have been running for some time.
Where evidence is available, the NAO found that the Department
successfully targets transfers on those most in need.
The Department does not have sufficient analysis of costs of
transfer programmes to know whether what it is spending represents
the best possible value for money and is under-informed about
efficiency. Electronic transfers can be a generally more efficient
and reliable way of reaching more isolated people. They are not yet
widely used by the Department, although there are plans to extend
their use. Nor does the Department consistently compare the
cost-effectiveness of transfers with that of other design options.
It also does not know whether the amount it transfers is set at the
optimal level because its programmes are generally not analysed for
different payment levels to assess which might lead to the best
results relative to the costs.
Publication details:
HC: 1587, 2010-2012
ISBN: 9780102976770