# Improving Perinatal Outcomes Using Conditional and Targeted Transfers

> **NIH NIH R01** · RAND CORPORATION · 2021 · $547,598

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Increasing the use of formal care around the time of birth is seen as a key strategy for improving
maternal and child health. Yet, worldwide, about 60 million births annually take place outside of
health institutions. The majority of these births take place at home, assisted by informal birth
attendants, relatives, and in some cases no one. In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two
regions that account for 86% and 75% of maternal and newborn deaths, only 43 percent and 42
percent of women, respectively, deliver in a health facility compared to 99% in Europe and North
America. It has been estimated that increasing the use of skilled care during childbirth could
prevent up to 1.5 million maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths by 2025. Conditional cash
transfer programs, in which women receive cash payments conditioned on the use of maternal
health services, are increasingly being used as a mechanism to increase deliveries in health facilities
in low and middle-income countries. In this randomized controlled trial, we study the effectiveness
of a cash transfer scheme that targets higher-risk women. Though CCT (and other demand-side)
programs are popular, there is growing recognition that investments will need to be made on the
supply-side in order to realize the full potential of programs that incentivize households to use
services. Many studies document the existence of supply-side constraints and there is evidence that
these may constitute important barriers to use of delivery care and improvement in health
outcomes. In this study, we randomly assign selected primary health care clinics to receive
discretionary cash grants and study the impact on service delivery, utilization, and health
outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10155099
- **Project number:** 5R01HD090231-05
- **Recipient organization:** RAND CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Edward N Okeke
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $547,598
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-11 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10155099

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10155099, Improving Perinatal Outcomes Using Conditional and Targeted Transfers (5R01HD090231-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10155099. Licensed CC0.

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