For example, investing in infant nutrition during the first 1,000 days of life can prevent malnutrition among older children (Scaling Up Nutrition 2016). Social cash transfers have been proved to reduce school dropout rates, child labour, adolescent stress and risky behaviours such as substance abuse, transactional sex and teenage pregnancy (Davis et al. Most often, social assistance programmes are designed with rural poverty and vulnerabilities in mind. What do urban contexts imply for the design (adaptation or extension) of social assistance programmes, especially for urban children?