Government cash transfer programs linked to major health gains for women and children
A Penn study finds that more women receive health care early in their pregnancies, more babies are born in health facilities, and more births are attended by trained health workers when governments give money through cash transfer programs.
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Large-scale, government-led cash transfer programs drive significant improvements in health outcomes across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a major new study in The Lancetfrom researchers at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. More women received health care early in their pregnancies, more babies were born in health facilities, and more births were attended by trained health workers when governments gave money through cash transfer programs.
The study finds that women are more likely to plan pregnancies as they wished, and more women are also able to get and use birth control when they needed it with these programs. Cash transfer programs that reached a greater share of the population had the strongest effects. The study builds on prior research by the same team, published in Nature, showing that these same cash transfer programs lead to large declines in mortality rates among women and children.
“As many countries consider the future of their cash transfer programs—including approaches such as basic or guaranteed incomes—this research highlights the broad health benefits these programs can deliver,” says Aaron Richterman,an assistant professor of infectious diseases and one of the study’s lead authors.
While previous research has shown favorable impacts of cash transfers on beneficiaries’ schooling, nutrition, and well-being, this study is among the first to demonstrate population-wide health improvements, including among non-beneficiaries.
The authors combined national survey data with a comprehensive database of government-led cash transfer programs to evaluate seventeen outcomes related to maternal health service use, fertility and reproductive decision-making, caregiver health behaviors, and child health and nutrition.
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