Main content

‘Bribing’ Mums To Feed Their Kids

How they’re giving cash, with strings attached, to poor mothers in Peru.

One in three children in Peru was growing up too short for their age, stunted by a lack of the right foods in their diet.

Then in 2005, the government put in place an innovative new system. They gave cash hand-outs to poor mothers but only on the condition that they had regular health check-ups and their children went to school.

By 2014 the number of children growing up too small had halved.

World Hacks tells the story.

Presented by Sahar Zand.

Image caption: Mother and child part of the malnutrition programme / Image credit: Â鶹ԼÅÄ

Available now

17 minutes

People fixing the world on YouTube

Watch stories of people changing their world on the World Service English YouTube channel

Podcast