Background: HIV infection has profound clinical and economic costs at the household level. This is particularly important in low-income settings, where access to additional sources of income or loans may be limited. While several microfinance interventions have been proposed, unconditional cash grants, a strategy to allow participants to choose how to use finances that may improve household security and health, has not previously been evaluated.

Methods: We examined the effect of an unconditional cash transfer to HIV-infected individuals using a 2 × 2 factorial randomized trial in two rural districts in Uganda. Our primary outcomes were changes in CD4⁺ cell count, sexual behaviors, and adherence to ART. Secondary outcomes were changes in household food security and adult mental health. We applied a Bayesian approach for our primary analysis.

Results: We randomized 2170 patients as participants, with 1081 receiving a cash grant. We found no important intervention effects on CD4⁺ T-cell counts between groups [mean difference 35.48, 95% credible interval (CrI) −59.9 to 1131.6], food security [odds ratio (OR) 1.22, 95% CrI: 0.47 to 3.02], medication adherence (OR 3.15, 95% CrI: 0.58 to 18.15), or sexual behavior (OR 0.45 95% CrI: 0.12 to 1.55), or health expenditure in the previous 3 weeks (mean difference $2.65, 95% CrI: −9.30 to 15.69). In secondary analysis, we detected an effect of mental planning on CD4⁺ cell count change between groups (104.2 cells, 9% CrI: 5.99 to 202.16). We did not have data on viral load outcomes.

Conclusion: Although all outcomes were associated with favorable point estimates, our trial did not demonstrate important effects of unconditional cash grants on health outcomes of HIV-positive patients receiving treatment.