Conditional cash transfer programs and health
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International Food Policy Research Institute
Johns Hopkins University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
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All of the major conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs in Latin America and the Caribbean have included components specifically intended to improve the health outcomes in beneficiary households. In Colombia, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua, health-related activities were fully integrated with other components of the respective cash transfer programs, while in Brazil a separate program (Bolsa Alimentacao) was set up to administer health- and nutrition-related payments. As discussed in detail later in this chapter, the health components of all of the CCT programs are based on the assumption that the achievement of optimal health status is constrained not only by low income but also by low demand for preventive health services. Thus, in all of these programs regular visits to health centers have been a condition for continuing to receive payments. In some countries, such as Mexico and Nicaragua, this conditionality has been rigorously enforced. In others, such as Brazil and Honduras, monitoring and enforcement have been weak. Reflecting both domestic and international policy priorities, most of the CCT programs have focused on young children and pregnant and lactating women, with only the Mexican Programa Nacional de Educacion, Salud, y Alimentacion (PROGRESA) requiring all household members to receive regular preventive health check-ups.
Palabras clave
cash transfers, social protection, health