Cash transfers save lives of women and children in poor countries, study finds

Distributing money from the government to poor individuals or families in low and middle countries in the form of cash transfers saved the lives of women and children under the age of 5 in the first two years of the programme, a study has found.The findings, reported in Nature,1 support the use of such programmes, which many countries introduced or expanded during the pandemic.“These are economic programmes traditionally aimed at reducing poverty, but their health benefits are not often considered,” said corresponding author Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He explained that cash transfer programmes involve direct payments, often by electronic transfer, to individuals or families who sign up.The study covered programmes in 37 countries that gave cash assistance to more than seven million people between 2000 and 2019. Of the 37 countries, 29 were in sub-Saharan Africa, three in Latin…
Read Original Article: Cash transfers save lives of women and children in poor countries, study finds »