The Evidence
The Evidence Base
Research supporting direct, flexible funding to community health workers.
Why Direct Funding Matters
The global flow of philanthropic and health funding is not reaching the local caregivers who are best positioned to deliver care, sustain communities, and drive lasting change. Addressing this imbalance requires shifting resources away from intermediary-heavy models toward direct, trust-based investment in organized caregiver networks.
Cash transfer research consistently shows that direct, flexible funding with minimal restrictions leads to better outcomes, greater dignity, and longer-lasting impact than in-kind or restricted grants.
6 Outcomes
Unconditional cash transfers improve family asset holdings, consumption, food security, psychological well-being, and female empowerment — with large spillover effects on nonrecipient households
Haushofer & Shapiro, Quarterly Journal of Economics (2016)$11T
Estimated value of unpaid care labor performed globally each year
World Economic Forum, The Future of the Care Economy~3:1
Estimated return on investment in the care economy sector
World Economic Forum, The Future of the Care Economy70%
of health outcomes influenced by social determinants
WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
<5%
of global health funding reaches local actors directly
Oxfam America, Funding the Localization Agenda