Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro announced during an annual address that pregnant women will soon be awarded a small cash subsidy. The monthly payment of 700,000 bolivars is, at the current exchange rate, worth about $3.83, according to CNN. 
 
 The subsidy would have been worth $17 as recently as last November; hyperinflation amid a collapsing economy is likely to make the subsidy worth even less in the weeks to come. 
 
 After the women give birth, their stipend will increase to 1 million bolivars, or $5.48, Maduro said. He did not provide a reason for starting the new payment scheme, which he reportedly expects will apply to 151,000 expecting mothers. 
 
 The once-prosperous nation continues further into a recession started by the drop in global oil prices in 2014. A domestic survey of Venezuela’s living conditions found that over 73% of the population lost an average of 19 pounds due to food shortages in 2015 and 2016. 
 
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 Pregnant women must have of one of Venezuela’s new national ID cards to redeem the stipend, CNN reports. But the cards are seen as a token of support for Maduro, and many citizens refuse to carry them. It is unclear if pregnant women without the card will be eligible for the subsidy. 

 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is giving pregnant women a little extra cash. 
 
 Emphasis on "a little." 
 
 Maduro announced during his annual address to the nation that pregnant women would receive a payment of 700,000 bolivars a month. It sounds like a lot, but Venezuela's runaway inflation means that sum is worth just $3.83 at the current exchange rate that millions of citizens follow closely. 
 
 Once the child is born, mothers will receive an additional 1 million bolivars, or $5.48. 
 
 Maduro didn't give a specific reason for the new handouts. Despite the fact that the sums aren't worth much in reality, he received a standing ovation from his supporters after announcing them. 
 
 Amid the country's collapsing economy, Venezuelans suffer from extreme shortages of medicine, food, toiletries and other essential items. The payments for pregnant women are unlikely to help them get hold of those things. 
 
 And the paltry sums will almost certainly be worth less in a matter of days as Venezuela's hyperinflation devours people's paychecks and salaries. 
 
 One dollar currently equals about 182,000 bolivars, according to a widely followed unofficial exchange rate. That's up from just over 41,000 bolivars in November. 
 
 The vast majority of citizens don't follow the government's official rate because it's believed to overvalue the bolivar. 
 
 Related: Venezuela's oil production plummets 
 
 Inflation in Venezuela last year rose above 4,000%, according to Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University and an expert on hyperinflation. 
 
 The new handouts for pregnant women highlight Maduro's enthusiasm for announcing plans to dish out the country's rapidly devaluing cash. 
 
 He has raised Venezuela's monthly minimum wage several times in recent years. In November, he gave out a "Christmas voucher" worth 500,000 bolivars (roughly $12 at the time, but about $2.74 now) to 4 million families. 
 
 Maduro has also tried to control prices in the economy. Earlier this month, he ordered private supermarkets, which set their own prices on most items, to slash food prices, causing confusion among customers. 
 
 Related: Venezuela plans its own version of Bitcoin 
 
 The president often claims he's trying to aid Venezuelans as the United States and other nations wage what he calls an "economic war" against his regime. Independent economists say government mismanagement, unsustainable policies and widespread corruption have crippled the nation of 30 million people. 
 
 One key rub to the payment for pregnant mothers is that they must have Venezuela's new national ID card. It's seen in the country as a symbol of support for Maduro, and many citizens opposed to the government don't carry it. It is unclear if pregnant women without the card will still receive the government handouts. 
 
 Maduro estimated that about 151,000 pregnant women would soon receive the monthly payments. 
 
 -- Stefano Pozzebon contributed reporting to this article from Caracas
– The good news for pregnant women in cash- and food-strapped Venezuela is that President Nicolas Maduro just announced the government would be giving them 700,000 bolivars a month. The bad news, per CNN: Thanks to hyperinflation, that amounts to just $3.83 in the real world. Maduro did not explain why the government is rolling out the stipends, which he announced in his annual address to the country, but he said they'll go up to the equivalent of about $5 a month once the baby is born. (CNN is basing that not on the government's official exchange rate, considered bogus, but on an unofficial exchange rate followed by millions.) Venezuela has been in dire straits thanks to a drop in oil prices that began in 2014, notes Fortune. In fact, children are starving.