The Social Cash Transfer Pilot Programme (SCTPP) was launched by the Tigray Bureau of Labour and Social Affairs (BOLSA) with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in 2011. The goal of the SCTPP is to improve the quality of life of orphans and vulnerable children, elderly and persons with disabilities and to enhance their access to essential services such as healthcare and education. Specific objectives include contributing to the reduction of poverty, hunger, and starvation; increasing school enrolment and attendance; improving the health and nutrition of children, and generating information on the feasibility, costeffectiveness, and impact of the SCTPP. The SCTPP operates in two woredas, rural Hintalo Wajirat and urban Abi Adi. SCTPP provides regular and predictable monthly cash transfers of US$ 7.88 to the poorest labour-constrained households. In addition, a household receives US$ 1.27 for each child plus an additional US$ 0.50 if the child is enrolled in school, up to a maximum of four children. Households with a disabled child receive an additional US$ 2, a disabled adult US$ 2.54, and an elderly dependent US$ 3.05. Beneficiary households are selected through a community-based targeting process, facilitated by the Community Care Coalitions (CCC), the primary structure at local level, in cooperation with woreda social workers. By January, 2014 the programme reached 3 767 households, of which around 40% with children under 18 and 75% female-headed. The pilot phase finishes at the end of 2014.