The Effect of a Cash Transfer Program and Preventive Nutrition Packages on Household Welfare and Child Nutritional Status in Mali

Summary

In the last two decades, cash transfer (CT) programs have emerged as a popular approach to long-term poverty alleviation. While the main goal of cash transfer programs is to reduce poverty, they also have the potential to improve many development outcomes, such as health and education.

While many studies, mainly in Latin America and Asia, have investigated the impacts of CTs on poverty and food security and have, for the most part, found positive impacts, less is known about the impacts of CTs in Africa south of the Sahara, and, in particular, West Africa. Moreover, despite the fact that cash transfers have been shown to lead to decreases in poverty, improvements in household food security, and increases in health service utilization, impacts on children's nutritional status (including anthropometric measures) are generally small (Manley, Gitter, and Slavchevska 2013). Consequently, policymakers and governments are left with the question of how to design social safety nets, such as cash transfers, to achieve greater impact on diet quality, health, and nutrition.

The overall goal of this research is to generate evidence and knowledge on an integrated program implemented by the Government of Mali that includes a combination of cash transfers and targeted nutrition interventions. The information generated will inform program implementers and policymakers about best options to improve food security and nutrition among vulnerable groups and individuals in West Africa. Specifically, the main objectives of the research are

1. To provide evidence on the contribution of integrated social transfer programs to enhancing household welfare, food security, dietary diversity, and maternal and child nutrition in West Africa.
2. To test different features and combinations of cash transfers and targeted nutrition interventions, and assess their impact on food security and maternal and child nutrition and health outcomes in Mali.
3. To generate knowledge regarding the pathways of impact of these different program packages, identify the most effective and efficient modalities in the context of Mali, and derive lessons learned for other countries in the region.

Conditions

• Poverty
• Child Malnutrition

Interventions

OTHER

Cash distribution during first 36 months

Three-monthly distribution of Cash (30,000 FCFA/trimester) to households that are beneficiary of the Jigisemejiri program.

BEHAVIORAL

Accompanying information sessions on health, child nutrition, household economics and education during first 36 months

Large group gatherings of cash beneficiaries are organized in parallel to the cash distributions. During these meetings, local NGOs present and discuss a topic related to health, child nutrition, household economics or education.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Preventive Nutrition Packages during last 12 months

Fortified flour supplements for children (Supercereal Plus)and pregnant/lactating mothers (super Cereal)

OTHER

Cash distribution during the last 12 months

Three-monthly distribution of Cash (30,000 FCFA/trimester) to households that are beneficiary of the Jigisemejiri program.

BEHAVIORAL

Accompanying information sessions on health, child nutrition, household economics and education during the last 12 months

Large group gatherings of cash beneficiaries are organized in parallel to the cash distributions. During these meetings, local NGOs present and discuss a topic related to health, child nutrition, household economics or education.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Implementation management committee of the Jigisemejiri program (Ministry of Economics and Finance, Government of Mali)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• International Food Policy Research Institute

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Dan Gilligan, PhD · IFPRI

• Marie Ruel, PhD · IFPRI

• Melissa Hidrobo, PhD · IFPRI

• Shalini Roy, PhD · IFPRI

• Lieven Huybregts, PhD · IFPRI

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

6 Months

Max Age

5 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-09-30

Primary Completion

2019-08-10

Completion

2019-08-10

Countries

• Mali

Study Locations