Tanzania has made significant economicprogress in the recent past, with per capita national incomealmost doubling from United States (U.S.) 230 dollarsequivalent in the late-1990s to U.S. 440 dollars. Thisreport explores the role safety nets and transfers can playin reducing poverty more rapidly in Tanzania. It presentsthe potential need and costs, to inform a debate of options.The report reviews existing programs, and providesrecommendations for an action plan to strengthen the currentsystem and develop a more unified national program, onewhich will have a greater impact on poverty levels atreasonable cost, in line with the Government's povertyreduction strategy, known by the Swahili acronym MKUKUTA.The report looks at transfers to the poor, including publicworks employment, subsidies, food distribution programs,cash and in-kind transfers, and vouchers. This paper isorganized in following chapters: chapter one givesintroduction; attempts to lay out what the options might be,within an analytical assessment of the nature of poverty andshocks faced by the poor in Tanzania is given in chaptertwo; chapter three examines the effectiveness of existingtransfer programs; at a strategic level it then evaluatesthe capacity of the state to spend on transfers, and howsafety net programs can fit into the wider nationaldevelopment agenda is given in chapter four. The paperconcludes by discussing some of the institutional andadministrative concerns that effect program design inchapter five; and outlines for a series of immediate stepsto improve the effectiveness of existing programs; as wellas a medium-term strategy for moving towards a more unifiednational program is discussed in chapter six.
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