World Bank to give cash incentive to teen mothers Photo courtesy of CGTN Africa

The World Bank will give cash payouts to teenage mothers from poor families who wish to continue their education.

The program by the World Bank, called Cash-Plus, seeks to is aimed at alleviating poverty and give teen mothers a chance to return to school. The  initiative reflects the World Bank’s broader strategy of using conditional cash transfers to encourage desired behaviors and actions, with a particular focus on education.

Conditional cash transfers, according to the World Bank, have a long and relatively successful history in results-based financing. By offering financial incentives tied to specific conditions, such as school enrollment, these programs aim to address systemic issues like underinvestment in education.

The World Bank notes that in many countries, families may underinvest in education due to financial constraints, lack of awareness about its long-term benefits, or immediate needs that take precedence.

“In many countries, households tend to underinvest in education, whether due to lack of money or lack of awareness about the returns from education, or due to more pressing needs that require funding. Cash subsidies can help ease such financial constraints and underscore the importance of education,”  the world bank says.

One of the program’s key requirements is that families must enroll their children in school to receive the cash transfers. This conditional approach has proven effective in other countries. For instance, in Mexico during the 1990s, a similar initiative under the PROGRESA program provided conditional cash transfers to families. The program significantly increased school enrollment rates, demonstrating the potential impact of such interventions in improving educational outcomes.

Cases of school dropout in developing countries, Kenya included,  are high and especially among girls mostly owing to poverty and teen pregnancies.

Teenage pregnancies in Kenya

Teenage pregnancies remain a significant challenge in Kenya, contributing to high school dropout rates among girls. According to the latest statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the teenage pregnancy prevalence rate stands at 15%.

Poverty and a lack of education are among the primary drivers of adolescent pregnancy in the country.

Teen mothers often face multiple barriers, including stigma, financial hardship, and limited access to resources, which hinder their ability to continue their education. This perpetuates a cycle of poverty and limited opportunities, both for the young mothers and their children.

Programs like Cash-Plus may have the potential to break this cycle by providing teenage mothers with the financial support needed to return to school.