ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book narrates how, in the run-up to the 2002 general elections in Kenya, opposition politicians and civil society activists formed the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) that rallied the public around the need to defeat the ruling KANU government in order to address decades-old grievances of poverty, unemployment, inequality, exclusion and the overall poor economic performance. It provides evidence from five countries, and these provide intriguing insights into the political economy conditions that have informed the adoption, formulation, implementation and progress of cash transfer. The book also shows that although the Nigerian Federal Government is working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Department for International Development (DfID) to implement pilot programmes on cash transfer, there is no policy that guides the implementation of social protection.
