Emergency Cash Transfer Programs, Stigma, and Access
Emergency Cash Transfer Programs, Stigma, and Access

Author: Jessica Robin Bliss

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Acute malnutrition puts over 50 million children at high risk of morbidity and mortality each year. Although treatment programs are efficacious, they neglect to address the condition's nondietary causes and program coverage rates are estimated to be below 15%. Interest in multisectoral approaches for the prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition has grown rapidly over the last decade; rigorous evidence regarding the impact of such approaches is lacking. The objectives of this dissertation were to (1) examine the role of emergency cash transfer programs (CTPs) in the prevention of acute malnutrition, and (2) to determine whether stigma associated with acute malnutrition limits access to treatment programs. We used a longitudinal dataset from a cohort of 453 children and households targeted by an unconditional emergency CTP in Maradi, Niger, to identify factors associated with the risk of developing acute malnutrition during a food crisis in 2012. We then used data from a quasiexperimental study of a conditional emergency CTP in Tahoua, Niger, to evaluate its impact on child diet and weight gain during the same period, comparing 212 beneficiary children to 212 concurrent controls. Finally, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of 711 caregivers attending health facilities in Marsabit County, Kenya, to assess barriers to accessing treatment for children with acute malnutrition. In Niger, our longitudinal study indicated that health and wealth-related factors were significant determinants of acute malnutrition risk. Diet-related factors and food expenditures were not associated with risk. Our quasi-experimental study revealed remarkable improvements in the diet and weight gain of beneficiary CTP children relative to controls. In Kenya, caregivers of acutely malnourished children were significantly more likely than others to report shame as a barrier to accessing treatment. We conclude that emergency CTPs have great potential to prevent acute malnutrition in contexts similar to the 2012 food crisis in Niger, although their ability to influence the health environment or to compensate for chronic poverty appears limited. Access to treatment for acute malnutrition is likely constrained by stigma in addition to a number of other well-established access barriers. There is a need for further critical evaluation of emergency CTPs as well as mechanisms to identify and reduce the sources of acute malnutrition-related stigma.

Cash-transfer Programming in Emergencies
Cash-transfer Programming in Emergencies

Author: Pantaleo Creti

Publisher: Oxfam

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 9780855985639

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In emergencies, distributing cash in a targeted manner can often meet people's immediate needs more quickly and appropriately than the direct distribution of commodities such as food aid. Cash gives people choices and thereby preserves their dignity. Commodity distribution may pose logistical problems, takes time, and in the case of food aid, may disrupt local markets if food is actually available within the affected country or region. But among humanitarian agencies there are fears that cash transfers will pose security risks, create inflation, and fail to be used to meet basic needs. In this guide, the first of its kind, Oxfam staff members present the rationale behind cash-transfer programs, considering the arguments for and against cash as an alternative to commodity distribution. They also give guidance on when cash is the most appropriate intervention and how to assess this. Different types of cash intervention are compared--cash grants, vouchers, and cash-for-work--and the guide uses checklists to explain the practical steps involved in implementing them. They draw on the experience of Oxfam and other agencies of operating such programs, including responses to the devastation caused by the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004. The guidelines are primarily intended for NGO personnel: humanitarian program managers, food-security specialists, public-health engineers, finance staff, and logisticians. Policymakers in donor organizations and international agencies will also find them relevant. The sixteen cards contain key elements from the book to explain how to assess whether cash is the most appropriate response to any particular emergency. The cards and the paperback are also available as a set.

The Cash Dividend
The Cash Dividend

Author: Marito Garcia

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2012-02-21

Total Pages: 441

ISBN-13: 0821388983

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book provides in-depth descriptions and analysis of how cash transfer programs have evolved and been used in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2000. The analysis focuses on program features and implementation, but it also highlights political economy issues and current knowledge gaps.

Conditional Cash Transfers
Conditional Cash Transfers

Author: Ariel Fiszbein

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2009-02-09

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 0821373536

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions. That is, the government only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor's office, receiving vaccinations, or the like. They have been hailed as a way of reducing inequality and helping households break out of a vicious cycle whereby poverty is transmitted from one generation to another. Do these and other claims make sense? Are they supported by the available empirical evidence? This volume seeks to answer these and other related questions. Specifically, it lays out a conceptual framework for thinking about the economic rationale for CCTs; it reviews the very rich evidence that has accumulated on CCTs; it discusses how the conceptual framework and the evidence on impacts should inform the design of CCT programs in practice; and it discusses how CCTs fit in the context of broader social policies. The authors show that there is considerable evidence that CCTs have improved the lives of poor people and argue that conditional cash transfers have been an effective way of redistributing income to the poor. They also recognize that even the best-designed and managed CCT cannot fulfill all of the needs of a comprehensive social protection system. They therefore need to be complemented with other interventions, such as workfare or employment programs, and social pensions.

Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries
Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries

Author: David Coady

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780821357699

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Drawing on a database of more than one hundred anti-poverty interventions in 47 countries, 'Targeting of Transfers in Developing Countries' provides a general review of experiences with methods used to target interventions in transition and developing countries. Written for policymakers and program managers in developing countries, in donor agencies, and in NGOs who have responsibility for designing interventions that reach the poor, it conveys what targeting options are available, what results can be expected as well as information that will assist in choosing among them and in their implementation. Key messages are: - While targeting 'works' - the median program transfers 25 percent more to the poor than would a universal allocation - targeting performance around the world is highly variable. - Means testing, geographic targeting, and self-selection based on a work requirement are the most robustly progressive methods. Proxy means testing, community-based selection of individuals and demographic targeting to children show good results on average, but with considerable variation. - Demographic targeting to the elderly, community bidding, and self-selection based on consumption show limited potential for good targeting. - There is no single preferred method for all types of programs or all country contexts. Successful targeting depends critically on how a method is implemented. The CD-ROM includes the database of interventions, an annotated bibliography (PDF) and Spanish and Russian translations of the book (PDFs).

Communities in Action
Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Key Policies for Addressing the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities
Key Policies for Addressing the Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequities

Author: Centers of Disease Control

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2017-09-27

Total Pages: 92

ISBN-13: 9289052651

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Evidence indicates that actions within four main themes (early child development fair employment and decent work social protection and the living environment) are likely to have the greatest impact on the social determinants of health and health inequities. A systematic search and analysis of recommendations and policy guidelines from intergovernmental organizations and international bodies identified practical policy options for action on social determinants within these four themes. Policy options focused on early childhood education and care; child poverty; investment strategies for an inclusive economy; active labour market programmes; working conditions; social cash transfers; affordable housing; and planning and regulatory mechanisms to improve air quality and mitigate climate change. Applying combinations of these policy options alongside effective governance for health equity should enable WHO European Region Member States to reduce health inequities and synergize efforts to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Humanitarian Emergency Settings Perceived Needs Scale (HESPER)
The Humanitarian Emergency Settings Perceived Needs Scale (HESPER)

Author: World Health Organization

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Humanitarian Emergency Settings Perceived Needs Scale (HESPER) provides a quick, scientifically robust way of assessing the perceived serious needs of people affected by large-scale humanitarian emergencies, such as war, conflict or major natural disaster. Perceived needs are needs which are felt or expressed by people themselves and are problem areas with which they would like help. The HESPER Scale assesses a wide range of social, psychological and physical problem areas. However, it does not provide an answer as to whether, or how to, offer help. It simply identifies those serious problems that are common in a population. These problems should then be assessed and addressed in more detail. The HESPER Scale was developed by the World Health Organization and King's College London in order to fill several gaps in the humanitarian field. It enables needs assessments to be based directly on the views of people affected by humanitarian emergencies, and provides a more accurate picture of the serious problems with which the overall emergency-affected population wants help. This manual includes the HESPER Scale, as well as a detailed explanation of how to use the HESPER Scale, and how to organize, analyze and report on a HESPER survey.

Building Inclusive Financial Sectors for Development
Building Inclusive Financial Sectors for Development

Author: United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Publisher: United Nations Publications

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In most developing countries, financial services are only available to a minority of the population. The majority have no savings accounts, do not receive credit from formal financial institutions and have no insurance policies. They seldom make or receive payments through financial institutions. The limited use of financial services in developing countries has become an international policy concern. The reason for concern about widespread financial "exclusion" in developing countries is straightforward: access to a well-functioning financial system can economically and socially empower individuals, in particular poor people, allowing them to better integrate into the economy of their countries, actively contribute to their development and protect themselves against economic shocks. The central question asked by this book is how to bring access to these fundamental services to all people in developing countries and thus accelerate their economic development and that of their countries. Inclusive finance - safe savings, appropriately designed loans for poor and low-income households and for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and appropriate insurance and payments services - can help people help themselves to increase incomes, acquire capital, manage risk and work their way out of poverty.