While all conditional transfer programmes are intended to reduce poverty, either by raising families’ consumption levels through cash transfers (short-term goal) or by building human capital (long-term goal), they differ in terms of their emphasis on one or other of these goals. This is reflected in the relative importance attached to the various programme components. To that end, various types of benefits are established depending on the specific sectoral goals, and transfers are differentiated according to the opportunity cost of different segments of the target population at the time when they gain access to the public services.