Today, millions of people are living in poverty and in emergency situations with lack of basic needs. This thesis will look into cash transfers in emergencies in Kenya and Kenya’s cash transfer program; Hunger Safety Net Program. Cash transfers are money transfers from organizations/donors to households that intent to provide the beneficiaries with the opportunity to purchase basic needs, in order to assist them to get out of poverty and to address Sustainable Development Goal 1; No poverty. 

The aim of the thesis is to get a larger understanding of when cash transfers intervention are appropriate during emergencies and to get a view of the current image of cash transfers in Kenya. The thesis will have the following research questions; 

When it is appropriate to deliver cash transfer in emergencies?  

What is the image of Hunger Safety Net Program and cash transfers in emergencies perceived by different actors?

To be able to answer the research question in this thesis, information was gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus groups from four different actor groups; funding sources, implementing agencies, local chief in Lodwar and beneficiaries in two different location in Turkana county. The thesis provides information that cash transfers has a positive impact on the beneficiaries and the local communities. Moreover the findings from the thesis suggests that the cash transfers should be transferred in prevention stage along with other intervention steps, in line with the theoretical frameworks of sustainable livelihood and WHO conceptual framework for the role of cash transfer. 

The thesis also provides findings that the image is diverse, however the findings from beneficiaries are that they do not receive their money they are entitling to. The funding source and the implementing agencies claim the opposite and praise the monitoring system that is in place. The thesis findings and conclusions are based on perceptions and therefore no physical evidence is proven, it is up to further research and organizations to investigate where the money is and who is benefitting from the program. The thesis contribution to knowledge are; the cash is appropriate to deliver in prevention stage and at the moment the cash from the Hunger Safety Net Program appears to not reach the beneficiaries, therefore the findings are highly important for knowledge to various stakeholders and for the public.