Cash Transfers

EMERGENCY FOOD SECURITY PROGRAM: FINAL EVALUATION REPORT

This report provides the results of the final evaluation of the Emergency Food Security Program (EFSP) implemented in twelve districts within the four regions of Sool, Sanaag, Galgaduud and Mudug that was conducted during July and August 2019.

Over and above the program performance parameters, the beneficiaries overwhelmingly indicated that the program had had significant positive impacts. The program was considered timely as it was delivered when beneficiaries were getting into months of food insecurity. When asked whether the cash transfer had improved their livelihoods, 93% of the household survey respondents reported that their livelihoods had improved, mainly in terms of improved purchasing power (93%), ease of meeting their basic needs (78%), better social status (22%), better and more recognition (17%), taking children to school (14%), access to healthcare (9%) and in other (non-described) areas (7%). In the household survey, 94% of the respondents received three cycles of the correct amount, whilst 5% who were targeted under the Rapid Response Fund (RRF) received two cycles enabling households to purchase their preferred foods, at least 25Kg of rice, 25Kg of sugar, 25kg wheat flour, 3kg of cooking oil, 10kg of pasta and some vegetables.

The program had a positive impact on the 52,299 households enrolled. The programme resulted in a reduction of distress coping strategies, with an average rCSI of 12.8 reducing from 20.4 at the program baseline. This supports the effectiveness of the program in enabling the beneficiaries to reduce the number of negative coping strategies that they were previously employing in order to meet basic household needs. In addition, as planned, all the households used the cash transfer to meet their basic needs, with 97% of them using the cash transfer to purchase food for the household, indicating that the cash intervention has directly contributed to the enhancement of the household food security during the drought. Trend analysis shows that throughout the program there was a downward trend of the rCSI scores, while there was an increase of household dietary diversity index to 20.4 compared to the baseline of 12.8. Similarly, an analysis of household hunger shows that in general the beneficiaries were experiencing little to no hunger, with only 13% experiencing moderate hunger and 86% of households experiencing little to no hunger. This again indicates that the programme has achieved positive outcomes.

While the evidence suggests that the program generated a number of positive impacts, across many domains, demonstrating effective and efficient implementation, and that the beneficiaries used the cash as per the original objectives of the program, households continue to faces challenges in their capacity to fully recover from the impacts of conflict and drought. Increasing the scale of interventions and developing additional holistic livelihood strategies for the target areas, creating linkages with market-based interventions and improvement in access to water, education and healthcare, experimenting with graduation models combined with local savings (VSLAs) were among some of the areas identified for improving future programming. A more detailed description of these recommendations is provided towards the tail end of the report. Read More...

Business-Based Solutions in Humanitarian Crises: Lessons from Zimbabwe

In response to heightened food insecurity in Zimbabwe, Crown Agents and CARE, through the Grain Trade Market Facility, utilised existing market structures to avoid a potentially devastating food disaster. Using innovative solutions that brought together both the public and private sectors the programme ensured that people could meet their basic food needs through mobile money transfers. Utilising private sector systems increased access to funds and guaranteed market demand. This improved the availability of grain nationwide, maintained price stability and ensured vulnerable households were able to meet their basic food needs. Read More...

Emergency Food Assistance for Somalis

With funds from the United States Agency for International Development/Food for Peace USAID/FFP), CARE implemented the Emergency Food Assistance for Somalis (EFAS) project from April 2017-May 2018 in the Sanaag and Sool regions of Somalia/Somaliland benefiting 13,882 households. Respondents and CARE felt that the impact was positive. The cash transfer helped recipients met basic needs, improve credit, positively impacted local markets and promoted impendence for women in shopping. Mobile money was an efficient delivery mechanism allowing for a fast project start-up, and beneficiaries access to fund. Mobile money service providers were inefficient in coordinating for service delivery but CARE took measures to counter this. CARE’s project approaches were efficient especially the use of the Biometric Beneficiaries Registration System, expeditated administrative processes, and staff deployment, but they were also viewed as bureaucratic. (41 pages) Read More...

Emergency Food Assistance for Somalis After Action Review

CARE implemented the Emergency Food Assistance for Somalis (EFAS) project over twelve months (April 2017 – March
2018) the Sool and Sanaag regions of Somalia/Somaliland. With funding from USAID, the project provided unconditional cash transfers to communities in need in 135 villages under Caynabo, Lascanod, Cerigabo, Celafweyn and Badhan Districts to 13,182 households (HH). As part of the project evaluation, CARE sought to complete an After-Action Review (AAR) with the staff who supported the project implementation. (26 pages) Read More...

Emergency response to support vulnerable person affected by El Nino in great South of Madagascar

This document is the final evaluation of the project “Emergency Response to support vulnerable person affected by El Nino in the Great South of Madagascar” from September 2016 to February 2018 and funded by ECHO. This project targeted seven communes in the district of Ambovombe. The action assisted 25 092 persons with cash transfer (cash for Work and unconditional cash transfer), support to agricultural activities (distribution of tools and drought-tolerant seeds) and improved access to drinking water. This final evaluation was conducted in March and April 2018 by an external consultant. Read More...

Cash Assistance to Households Affected by Food Insecurity in Goundam and Niafunke Districts

This 25 page report highlights the final results of an Emergency Cash Transfer project in Northern Mali with funding from USAID's Food for Peace. Read More...

Zimbabwe ‘cash first’ humanitarian response 2015–2017

This 107 page final evaluation of the DFIF-funded Cash First Humanitarian response was written by Ox... Read More...

Emergency cash-first response evaluation

This 161 page document highlights findings from the mobile case transfers project from August 2015 ... Read More...

Zambia – scale project impact study report

This 32 page document highlights the impacts of the Strengthening Cash Transfers Transfers for Acce... Read More...

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