The Independent | Giving mothers cash just before they give birth could halve infant mortality, study suggests
Giving women a cash payment just before they give birth could halve infant mortality rates and provide a cost-effective way of saving lives in the face of shrinking aid budgets, a study in Kenya has suggested.
Households across 653 villages that were given a one-off, no-strings-attached payment of $1,000 dollars (£740) around the time of birth had 48 per cent fewer children die before the age of one and 45 per cent fewer die before the age of five.
The money, sent via a mobile phone money transfer, allowed women to access pre-natal care, give birth in hospital and work less in the six months surrounding the birth, the researchers from University of California, Berkeley and the non-profit GiveDirectly said.
