Sustainability of Impacts of Cash Transfers, Food Transfers, and Behavior Change Communication in Bangladesh

International Food Policy Research Institute5,000 enrolled

Overview

This study assesses the sustainability of impacts, 4 years post-program, from a pilot safety net program that was implemented from May 2012-April 2014. The intervention, called the Transfer Modality Research Initiative (TMRI), was assigned following a cluster-randomized controlled trial design in two zones of Bangladesh (north and south). Intervention arms were assigned at the village level, where arms were as follows: (1) cash transfers \[north and south\]; (2) cash transfers + nutrition behavior communication change (BCC) \[north only\]; (3) food transfers \[north and south\]; (4) food transfers + nutrition BCC \[south only\]; (4) food-cash split \[north and south\]; and (5) control \[north and south\]. Within treatment villages, women living in very poor households were targeted to receive benefits for two years.

The objective of the study is to assess, 4 years after a pilot safety net intervention ended in April 2014, the sustainability of the intervention's impacts on households, children, and women. The intervention, called the Transfer Modality Research Initiative (TMRI), was assigned following a cluster-randomized controlled trial design in two zones of Bangladesh (north and south). WFP-Bangladesh implemented the intervention, and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted the impact evaluation research. Intervention arms were assigned at the village level, where arms were as follows: (1) cash transfers \[north and south\]; (2) cash transfers + nutrition behavior communication change (BCC) \[north only\]; (3) food transfers \[north and south\]; (4) food transfers + nutrition BCC \[south only\]; (5) food-cash split \[north and south\]; and (5) control \[north and south\]. Within treatment villages, women living in very poor households were targeted to receive benefits for two years, from May 2012-April 2014. For the original impact evaluation, longitudinal data on 5000 households were collected from 2012-2015 (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02237144). For the sustainability study in 2018, given available funding, the sampling frame will include 4000 households. This will include all households that were originally in the following arms: (1) cash transfers \[north and south\]; (2) cash transfers + nutrition BCC \[north only\]; (3) food transfers \[north and south\]; (4) food transfers + nutrition BCC \[south only\]; (5) control \[north and south\].

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Interventions

Cash transferOTHER

1500 taka ($18.75) per household distributed monthly

Food transferOTHER

30 kg rice, 2 kg lentils, and 2 kg micro-nutrient fortified cooking oil per household distributed monthly

Food and cash transferOTHER

15 kg of rice, 1 kg of lentils, and 1 kg of micronutrient-fortified cooking oil, and 750 taka cash per household, distributed monthly

Nutrition behavior Communication Change (BCC)BEHAVIORAL

Weekly, group-based, one-hour meetings on maternal and child nutrition, sanitation and health knowledge, attitudes and practice; twice-a-month home visits; monthly community meetings

ControlOTHER

No transfer, no behavior change communication

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Food Consumption Score

The Food Consumption Score, as defined by the World Food Programme, is calculated as the number of food groups consumed by the household in the previous 7 days, weighted by each food group's nutritional value and frequency of consumption. Scale range is 0 to 112, with higher values reflecting higher food consumption.