Control and accountability in conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America and the Caribbean

Conditional cash transfer programmes (CCT) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have become flagship national social programmes with increasingly broad coverage and demonstrated results. They provide cash payments to poor families that meet certain conditions, generally related to children's health care and education. Evidence from a number of countries shows that they can reduce poverty and improve use of education and health services. However, these programmes face several implementation challenges, which require effective control and accountability mechanisms. This paper presents tools and good practices to oversee the control and accountability systems of the CCT programmes. It reviews main findings and recommendations from several previous reports that have documented these mechanisms, identified risks, and analysed areas for improvement.

World Bank - October 2011