Direct cash aid must be viewed as an investment in children and future development.
“The word ‘handout’ crops up a lot. It creates a bit of a problem. The countries that have the most successful social protection programmes and reduce child poverty most effectively, they don’t think of these things as handouts, or something from the charity model,” said Stephen Barrett, chief of social policy at Unicef Malaysia.
“Providing assistance is good for the economy, RM1 in the hands of the poor is good for the economy,” he said, as they are more likely to spend the money given to them on things like household essentials, recirculating it into the economy and contributing to increased private consumption.