Social protection and safety nets
No small change: Oxfam GB Malawi and Zambia emergency cash transfer projects - a synthesis of key learning
Alternative humanitarian assistance for food insecure southern Africa
Authors:
P. Harvey; K. Savage; Oxfam
Publisher:
Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI, 2006
In response to predictions of an impending food crisis in southern Africa in 2005 - 2006, Oxfam deployed a relief response. As an alternative to emergency food aid, the agency undertook cash transfer schemes in both Malawi and Zambia. This paper presents an evaluation (undertaken in May/April 2006) of this endeavour, providing key lessons for the use of cash transfers in both short-term humanitarian crises and longer-term development programmes.
The evaluation finds that, in both countries, the vast majority of the cash transfer was spent on food, mainly maize. People also made small but sometimes crucial non-food expenditures, including spending on health and educational resources and agricultural subsidies.
Other findings include:
- the cash equivalent of a standard food aid ration was generally provided, based on purchase price and availability - in remote areas where there was a lack of maize grain and poor access forced some families to purchase less than normal
- food prices in Malawi rose much more than anticipated - highlighting the project's lack of a contingency plan to make adjustments for such an event
- evidence on whether beneficiaries share the cash in a similar way as do communities in receipt of food aid was mixed - the cash itself wasn't really shared at all, however purchased foodstuffs were widely shared.
The key lessons coming from this evaluation is that cash transfers, just like food aid, call for effective targeting and distribution skills. Planning for cash projects needs to be integrated into disaster preparedness and contingency planning processes. Similarly, good monitoring of markets and prices is key to understanding the impact and appropriateness of cash transfers - this needs to allow for adjustments if prices rise unexpectedly, or if people are unable to buy key commodities in local markets. In the longer-term, cash transfers could help to alleviate poverty and make it easier for households to deal with periodic shocks.
[adapted from author]
