[Comment] Why cash transfers matter for global health—now more than ever

Government-led cash transfer programmes have been a central aspect of poverty reduction and social protection efforts in most low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) during the past two decades.1 Although primarily designed to generate socioeconomic benefits, numerous studies have shown the broad and positive effect of cash transfers on several health outcomes, sometimes with striking results. These benefits include, among others, reductions of more than 60% in the incidence and mortality of tuberculosis among Indigenous populations2 and reductions of more than 50% in HIV/AIDS incidence and mortality among extremely poor individuals in Brazil.