Government cash transfer programs linked to major health gains for women and children in low- and middle-income countries

Large-scale, government-led cash transfer programs drove significant improvements in health outcomes across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), according to a major new study in The Lancet from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania 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.

Researchers analyzed data from more than two million live births and nearly one million children under the age of five, spanning 37 LMICs, such as Haiti, Malawi, and Cambodia, between 2000 and 2019, 20 of which introduced large-scale cash transfer programs.

The study found that, when governments give people money through cash transfer programs, women were more likely to plan pregnancies as they wished, and more women were also able to get and use birth control when they needed it. 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 led to large declines in mortality rates among women and children.