MANILA: The Department of Social Work and Development’s Conditional Cash Transfer programme is set to achieve its goals of promoting investments in the health and education of its beneficiaries, the World Bank reported yesterday.
In a report titled Philippines Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, Impact Evaluation 2012, the multilateral lender said the CCT beneficiaries are enrolling and attending schools with improved health due to regular visits in health stations.
Pregnant mothers who benefit from the programme are also getting proper care, it added.
CCT or Pantawid Pamilya gives cash grants to the poorest households to encourage them to keep their children aged 0-14 in school and have regular health checks.
Pregnant mothers are also required to avail of proper medical care and their deliveries attended to by health professionals.
Mothers are also required to attend family development sessions on parenting and accessing social services in the community. The report said that among the CCT villages surveyed, 76 percent of the preschoolers are enrolled in daycare, compared to 65 percent in non-CCT villages.
Ninety-eight percent of school children aged 6-11 who benefit from the programme are enrolled in school, against 93 percent in non-CCT villages.
CCT children aged 6-14 also have higher school attendance (95-96 percent) compared to 91 percent of non-CCT programme.
In health, 64 percent of pregnant mothers in CCT villages had antenatal care against 54 percent in non-CCT villages.
Eighty-five percent of children beneficiaries aged 6-14 have also undergone deworming as against 80 percent in non-CCT villages, and 81 percent of children in CCT villages aghed 0-5 have taken Vitamin A supplements compared to 75 percent in non-CCT villages.
“I am pleased to know that the children of poor families are indeed enjoying better and improving access to education and better health services through Pantawid Pamilya,” said Conditional Cash Transfe Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.
“Along with other government programmes aimed to reduce poverty, Pantawid Pamilya ensures that no one gets left behind in terms achieving holistic and inclusive growth,” she said.
Junko Onishi, World Bank’s social protection specialist, said the Pantawid Pamilya programme has reduced severe stunting among poor children 6-36 months of age.
Severe stunting can cause irreversible damage later in life including lower educational attainment, reduced adult income and decreased offspring birth weight, Onishi said.
Nazmul Chaudhury, World Bank’s country sector coordinator for human development who co-authored the report, said poor households under the programme spend 38 percent more in education per capita and 34 percent more on medical expenses per capita than their non-Pantawid counterparts.
The Philippine Star
