South Africa's Child Support Grant
2016
This case study describes a cash transfer program to poor households with young children in South Africa. In 1998, South Africa launched a new social welfare program, the Child Support Grant (CSG), that would provide cash grants of ZAR100 (US$21) each month to the poorest 30 percent of children under seven years old, conditional upon participation in development programs and proof of immunization status. The case study describes iterations on CSG’s design to increase uptake (e.g. expanded eligibility, eliminated conditions) and improve delivery and accountability, the impact of CSG on child and adolescent health, the cost of the program, and key success factors.
This case study is part of Millions Saved: New Cases of Proven Success in Global Health, a collection of case studies produced by the Center for Global Development that profiles 18 remarkable cases in which large-scale efforts to improve health in low- and middle-income countries succeeded, and 4 examples of promising interventions that fell short of their health targets when scaled-up in real world conditions. The cases featured on the website are shortened versions of the respective book chapters in the print edition.
South Africa's Child Support Grant
Source:
Glassman A, Temin M. South Africa’s Child Support Grant. Millions Saved: New Cases of Proven Success in Global Health. Center for Global Development 2016. http://millionssaved.cgdev.org/case-studies/south-africas-child-support-grant.