The impact of cash transfers on nutrition in emergency and transitional contexts: A review of evidence

This study examines the impact of cash transfers on nutrition in emergency and transitional settings. It was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Drawing on 54 evaluations and project documents from humanitarian programmes since 2004, literature on cash transfer programmes and correspondence with aid agencies, it examines how cash transfers could address malnutrition and its causes in crises and transitional contexts. Malnutrition is caused by inadequate dietary intake and disease, which in turn are caused by food insecurity, inadequate care and a poor health environment. In theory, cash transfers in emergency and transitional settings could address most if not all causes of malnutrition. However, the report finds that attributing changes in nutritional status to interventions, including those using cash transfers, is extremely difficult. Evidence from humanitarian evaluations makes a strong case that cash transfers often improve dietary intake. The report also shows that there is less evidence that cash transfers improve caring practices and almost no evidence for or against their impact on disease. Based on the report, strong analysis of the causes of malnutrition in a given context and of the likely impacts of different interventions is fundamental to determining appropriate responses. Cash transfers should be considered as one possible tool in a holistic approach to addressing malnutrition and its causes.

ODI - January 2012