Evaluating cash transfers as a tool to combat HIV/AIDS

Aug 10 2012

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at the center, and Denizhan Duran, a research assistant at the center, examine several recent studies evaluating the use of cash transfers as a strategy against HIV/AIDS. They state that "a new generation of cash transfer programs in sub-Saharan Africa is reducing new infections and HIV-related risky behavior -- and documenting the gains -- while also providing consumption, nutrition, education, and mental health benefits to the orphans and vulnerable children who are the primary targets of some programs." Glassman and Duran conclude, "With the new batch of evaluation results on cash transfers, there may be more reasons to invest in these kinds of programs, particularly the at-scale national programs targeted to the poor" (8/8).