Impacts of the Malawi social cash transfer program on household food and nutrition security

Brugh, Kristen Nichole; Ángeles, Gustavo; Mvula, Peter; Tsoka, Maxton; Handa, Sudhanshu

doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2017.11.002

Cited by 43 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Hunger is widespread in Malawi, and proverbs about ‘black dogs’ and ‘darkness’ reflect the heavy burden of this ongoing challenge. Hunger and lack of food options are intricately connected to poverty (Brugh et al 2018, 19), which was cited by many participants. Poverty is one of the primary causes of poor health in Malawi, with rural communities, like those in our study, experiencing higher rates of poverty than urban areas (Gondwe et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A black dog enters the home: hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

et al. 2021

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Hunger and inadequate nutrition are ongoing concerns in rural Malawi and are exemplified in traditional proverbs. Traditional proverbs and common expressions offer insight into commonly held truths across societies throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Strong oral traditions allow community beliefs embodied in proverbs to be passed down from generation to generation. In our qualitative study, we conducted 8 individual and 12 focus group interviews with a total of 83 participants across two districts in rural central Malawi with the aim of soliciting context-specific details on men and women’s knowledge, attitudes and practices related to nutrition, gender equality and women’s empowerment. Each interview began by asking participants to share common proverbs related to nutrition. Our qualitative analysis, informed by an indigenous-based theoretical framework that recognises and centres African indigenous knowledge production, yielded six themes: ‘a black dog enters the home’, ‘don’t stay with your hands hanging’, ‘a man is at the stomach’, ‘showers have fallen’, ‘we lack peace in our hearts’ and ‘the hunger season’. Traditional proverbs can provide insight into the underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition. Physicians, nurses and other allied health professionals around the world have a role to play in addressing hunger and malnutrition, which have been exacerbated by climate change. We have an ethical duty to educate ourselves and others, and change our behaviours, to mitigate the root causes of climate change, which are contributing to food insecurity and resultant poor health outcomes in countries like Malawi.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A black dog enters the home: hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

et al. 2021

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“…Cash transfer programs have emerged as an increasingly popular social protection strategy to alleviate poverty and improve education, nutrition, and health for children (Bauchet, Undurraga, Reyes-García, Behrman, & Godoy, 2018;Boone, Covarrubias, Davis, & Winters, 2013;Brugh, Angeles, Mvula, Tsoka, & Handa, 2018;Gertler, 2000;Gilligan, Margolies, Quiñones, & Roy, 2013;Hidrobo, Hoddinott, Margolies, Moreira, & Peterman, 2012;Miller, Tsoka, & Reichert, 2011). Cash transfer programs are classified into two types: conditional and unconditional.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Malawi, households identified as ultra-poor and labor-constrained were eligible for the Mchinji Cash Transfer Programme, an unconditional cash transfer program implemented by the government, and received on average monthly cash transfers of USD 14. The recipient households were found to increase food expenditures, decrease missed meals and days without adequate food, reduce the prevalence of underweight children and improve beneficiary adults' and children's health status with less sickness (Brugh et al, 2018), and produce more and a wider variety of food on their own land (Boone et al, 2013). On the other hand, Manley, Gitter, and Slavchevska (2013) reviewed relevant papers on cash transfer programs and concluded that the average impact of cash transfer programs on height-for-age is small and statistically insignificant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cash transfer program and child underweight—Empirical evidence from a causal mediation analysis

Liao

Chang

2020

Agricultural Economics

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Despite the existence of a voluminous literature on cash transfer programs, little is known about their impacts on the underweight of children. To fill the knowledge gap, this study uses a unique individual panel data set to analyze how participation in the Children Sponsorship Program (CSP) improves underweight status among needy children and adolescents in Taiwan. This study examines not only the program effect on children's underweight, but also underscores the potential pathways behind the program effect by employing a causal mediation analysis. Our analysis finds that exiting the CSP has a negative impact on the improvement of underweight status. Moreover, eating breakfast every day and receiving pocket money from parents can be two significant mediators that link the effect of exiting the CSP and the change in underweight status among children and adolescents.

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“…Previous analysis examining the impacts of the Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) and Multiple Category Targeted Grant (MCTG) on primary outcomes has concluded that at the household level, both programs increased consumption, food security, material welfare and assets, and strengthened livelihoods and productive investment, while decreasing monetary poverty (UNC 2016;Fisher et al 2017;Brugh et al 2018;). In addition, both programs were found to increase child school attendance, yet non-negligible increases were also found in child work participation (both in household entrepreneurial activities and household chores) as children played a role in helping with household productive investment (de Hoop, Groppo, and Handa 2017;Kilburn et al 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

Cash Transfers, Early Marriage, and Fertility in Malawi and Zambia

Dake¹,

Natali²,

Ángeles³

et al. 2018

Studies in Family Planning

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There is increasing interest in the ability of cash transfers to facilitate safe transitions to adulthood in low‐income settings; however, evidence from scaled‐up government programming demonstrating this potential is scarce. Using two experimental evaluations of unconditional cash transfers targeted to ultra‐poor and labor‐constrained households over approximately three years in Malawi and Zambia, we examine whether cash transfers delayed early marriage and pregnancy among youth aged 14 to 21 years at baseline. Although we find strong impacts on poverty and schooling, two main pathways hypothesized in the literature, we find limited impacts on safe transition outcomes for both males and females. In addition, despite hypotheses that social norms may constrain potential impacts of cash transfer programs, we show suggestive evidence that pre‐program variation in social norms across communities does not significantly affect program impact. We conclude with policy implications and suggestions for future research.

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Impacts of the Malawi social cash transfer program on household food and nutrition security

Cited by 43 publications

References 19 publications

A black dog enters the home: hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

A black dog enters the home: hunger and malnutrition in Malawi

Cash transfer program and child underweight—Empirical evidence from a causal mediation analysis

Cash Transfers, Early Marriage, and Fertility in Malawi and Zambia

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