Thursday, June 30, 2011

Conditional cash transfer and health


·         Capitalism has helped improve economies of many countries but at same time they have widened the inequalities
·         Crores of people still live in hunger, malnutrition, unemployed and their livelihood under threat
·         Over 80% of world population lack access to social security benefits
·         Many nations in south america have proved that equitable growth can be achieved with conditional cash transfers
o   Argentians universal child allowance program
o   Bolsa familia in brazil
o   Mexico’s opportunidaes
·         CCTs have multiplies effects and create more secure societies
India’s CCT schemes
·         Janani suraksha yojana aims to reducing maternal and neo natal mortality by incentivising institutional deliveries
·         The scheme is monitored based on institutional deliveries and assitances provided but not based on outcomes like health of new borns and mothers
·         Most of the public health delivery systems are in shambles despite the efforts under NRHM
·         This is again because of NRHMs input based monitoring instead of outcome based monitoring
·         CCTs in health can be a success only when we have good public health delivery systems

CCTs and Population stabilisation
·         In 1975-77 government followed a populationc ontrol policy based on surgicals terilisation
·         It incentivised surgical sterilisation
·         The succeeding government rejected this policy however the mindset has remained so
·         Correlation between family size, illiteracy and poverty leads many to conclude that large number of children in a family is cause of poverty and ill health
·         But the reality is poor is see larger number of children as a safety net in their old age
·         Without social security , any conditional cash transfer to stabilise population will fail to meet its objectives
SOLUTION
·         CCTs are only aprt of a solution to the problems
·         the government shouldn’t abdicate from its responsibility claiming that CCTs will take care of everything

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