Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec 4;14(12):1502.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph14121502.

The Synergetic Effect of Cash Transfers for Families, Child Sensitive Social Protection Programs, and Capacity Building for Effective Social Protection on Children's Nutritional Status in Nepal

Andre M N Renzaho  1   2 , Stanley Chitekwe  3 , Wen Chen  4   5 , Sanjay Rijal  6 , Thakur Dhakal  7 , Pradiumna Dahal  8
Affiliations

The Synergetic Effect of Cash Transfers for Families, Child Sensitive Social Protection Programs, and Capacity Building for Effective Social Protection on Children's Nutritional Status in Nepal

Andre M N Renzaho et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the synergetic effect of child sensitive social protection programs, augmented by a capacity building for social protection and embedded within existing government's targeted resource transfers for families on child nutritional status.

Design: A repeat cross-sectional quasi-experimental design with measures taken pre- (October-December 2009) and post- (December 2014-February 2015) intervention in the intervention and comparison district. The comparison district received standard social welfare services in the form of targeted resource transfers (TRTs) for eligible families. The intervention district received the TRTs plus a child cash payment, augmented by a capacity building for effective social protection outcomes. Propensity scores were used in difference-in-differences models to compare the changes over time between the intervention and control groups.

Results: Propensity score matched/weighted models produced better results than the unmatched analyses, and hence we report findings from the radius matching. The intervention resulted in a 5.16 (95% CI: 9.55, 0.77), 7.35 (95% CI: 11.62, 3.08) and 2.84 (95% CI: 5.58, 0.10) percentage point reduction in the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among children under the age, respectively. The intervention impact was greater in boys than girls for stunting and wasting; and greater in girls than boys for underweight. The intervention also resulted in a 6.66 (95% CI: 2.13, 3.18), 11.40 (95% CI: 16.66, 6.13), and 4.0 (95% CI: 6.43, 1.78) percentage point reduction in the prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among older children (≥24 months). No impact was observed among younger children (<24 months).

Conclusions: Targeted resource transfers for families, augmented with a child sensitive social protection program and capacity building for social protection can address effectively child malnutrition. To increase the intervention effectiveness on younger children, the child cash payment amount needs to be revisited and closely embedded into infant and young child feeding initiatives, but also adjusted to equate to 20% of household expenditure or more to maximize the diversity of food available to young children.

Keywords: Nepal; and underweight; child cash grant; social protection; stunting; wasting.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram detailing the intervention implementation plan and data collection phases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Difference in differences.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Assessing the adequacy of the matching approach.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organisation Children: Reducing Mortality. [(accessed on 8 August 2017)];2016 Available online: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs178/en/
    1. Black R.E., Victora C.G., Walker S.P., Bhutta Z.A., Christian P., De Onis M., Ezzati M., Grantham-McGregor S., Katz J., Martorell R. Maternal and child undernutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet. 2013;382:427–451. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. United Nations . The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2015.
    1. United Nations . Resolution Adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015. United Nations; New York, NY, USA: 2015. A/RES/70/1.
    1. World Health Organisation . Sixty-Fith World Health Assembly, Resolutions and Decisions Annexes. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: May 21–26, 2012. WHA65/2012/REC/1.