Study Finds Cash Transfer More Beneficial Than Traditional Development Aid

(CBS Local)-- A new study found that traditional aid programs and large sums of money don't significantly improve the health and financial standing of a country.

However, the study concluded that large cash transfers could help bleak financial and health standings of people.

The study, funded by Google and the US Agency for International Development, focused on a traditional malnutrition program called Gikuiro, which was funded by USAID and implemented by Catholic Relief Services. Research results indicated that this program helped improve health knowledge and vaccination rates in Rwanda, but the traditional aid didn't create more diversity in the diets of the children.

On the other hand, a large transfer of money led directly to a drop in child mortality and an improvement in village vaccination rates. Andrew Zeitlin, a professor at Georgetown and co-author of the study, believes these results are important to recognize even though they didn't solve all of the country's problems.

"It is an improvement for sure and one to be celebrated, and may be relatively good value for money compared to other programming in this space."

Zeitlin hopes this study can be a guide for relief programs going forward.