Reducing child mortality: cash transfers can help

Jun 17th, 2009 2:14 PM EST
By Lisa.Fleisher

A new report by Save the Children UK released today argues that reductions in child mortality can be accelerated if regular, predictable transfers of cash, or cash transfers, are provided to households or individuals by the government. Unlike traditional welfare programs, cash transfers in this case are conditional upon parents seeking and receiving certain services for their children. If children do not regularly attend school or get regular check-ups at health clinics, the cash transfer program will not pay out.

Cash transfers work to break down one barrier to families’ ability to access social services, namely the cost of the service. By addressing the ‘demand-side’ of issues related to alleviating poverty, cash transfer programs offer a complement to the ‘supply-side’ interventions which focus on increasing the availability of health, education, and nutrition services and programs.

The Save the Children report offers the following five recommendations:

1. Maternal and child benefits should be an integral part of child survival efforts in countries experiencing high rates of maternal and child mortality. Targets for expanding coverage should be set by the government in a way that makes sense for their national budget and administrative capacity.
2. Cash transfers should be implemented in combination with other policies and programmes.
3. Equity should be incorporated into the existing MDG framework so that the poorest and marginalized are not left behind. Reporting statistics on whether the poorest groups are receiving services intended for them should happen routinely.
4. The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health should include child and maternal benefits in the package of interventions it recommends for the Countdown to 2015 countries.
5. On the donor side, social protection programs – including cash transfers - should receive increased investment.

-Lisa Fleisher

TAGS: Maternal and Child Health, Policy News