• Around the world, cash transfer programs have helped to reduce poverty and improve the health, education, and welfare of the very poorest children and families.
• In 1997, the Government of Mexico introduced a cash transfer program, called Programa de Educación, Salud, y Alimentación (Progresa), to provide assistance to extremely poor households, conditioned on their participation in health, nutrition, and education services.
• Today, Progresa, now known as Oportunidades, helps more than 5 million households in all 31 Mexican states.
• In collaboration with the Mexican government, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) rigorously evaluated Progresa’s impact on education, nutrition, health, and rural poverty several years ago.
• The evaluation suggests that Progresa’s cash transfer interventions reduced the number of people with income levels below the poverty line by about 10 percent. Progresa’s largest reductions in poverty were achieved among the poorest people.
• Health visits increased by 18 percent in Progresa communities, and illnesses among Progresa children aged 0-5 years were reduced by 12 percent.
• Rates of anemia (often linked to micronutrient malnutrition) were substantially lower among Progresa participants and stunting, also a sign of malnutrition, was reduced by 10 percentage points.
• Progresa also increased overall secondary school enrollment by 6 and 9 percentage points, respectively, for boys and girls. Moreover, the rate of those making the transition to secondary school increased by 15 percentage points for girls, who often drop out after elementary school.
• Children in the Progresa program also entered school at an earlier age and repeated fewer grades.

Sources:

• Adato and Bassett, 2008. What Is the Potential of Cash Transfer to Strengthen Families Affected by HIV and AIDS? A Review of the Evidence on Impacts and Key Policy Debates (IFPRI/RENEWAL and JLICA)
• Adato and Hoddinott, 2007. Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: A “Magic Bullet” for Reducing Poverty? (IFPRI)
• Adato et al., 2002. Progresa: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty (IFPRI)