Bolivia’s Coup-Born Regime Suspends Benefits for Pregnant Women

Bolivia's Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) senator Efrain Chambi and the authorities of the Shinaota municipality in Cochabamba Tuesday denounced that the coup-born regime led by Jeanine Añez has suspended the payment of the “Juana Azurduy" conditional cash transfer granted to poor pregnant women, mothers, and children under two years.

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Created in 2009 as a mechanism to fight poverty, the Juana Azurduy is a US$7 bonus that the Bolivian State grants to pregnant women every time they attend a prenatal check. Women also receive a US$17 grant for giving birth in a public health facility.

Both measures are intended to create incentives for the indigenous population and other vulnerable social groups to participate more actively in the formal health system.

The Bolivian government also granted US$18 to mothers if they went with their children to a medical check-up every two months during the child's first two years of life.

"Bolivia: The Juana Azurduy cash transfer supports pregnant women with limited resources. Today the racist dictatorship begins to destroy it."

Between 2009 and 2018, the Juana Azurduy social protection program invested about USD164 million to benefit more than two million mothers and children, according to official figures.

This program even implemented a Universal Prenatal Grant in 2015 through which nutritious food was delivered to pregnant women.

Bolivia's former President Evo Morales set up several innovative mechanisms to protect historically disadvantaged social groups by fulfilling basic rights recognized in the Plurinational constitution.

Among them, for example, was the "Dignity Income" for senior citizens and the "Juancito Pinto" voucher for elementary and high school students.