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 …