Cash-transfer Programme (CTP) II Phase: Zimbabwe

CARE International in consortia with World Vision International implemented the DFID funded project ‘Emergency Cash-First Response to Drought-Affected Communities in the Southern Provinces of Zimbabwe’ from August 2015 to April 2017. The objective of the project was to enhance food security and reduce negative coping strategies of vulnerable and drought-affected households in four provinces. The project’s specific outcome was to ensure that beneficiaries were able to cope with food shocks and meet their basic food needs during the 2015/16 and 2016/17 agricultural periods.

The first phase of the project ended in February 2015, but after the second season of failed rains the project continued into a second phase, with transfers being delivered from July 2016 until March 2017. It began by supporting 67,200 households in the first phase and increased to 73,736 by March 2017; reaching over 418,000 people2. The project transferred an estimated $40.9m ($25.7 in the second phase) to 73,736 recipients through mobile money, reaching households that had been selected through community-based targeting in drought-affected areas. A monthly transfer to each household was initially $5 per each household member and increased to $7 in August 2016, with households on average receiving $554.68 (total budget/direct recipients) through 17 payments.

This particular evaluation is focusing on the second period from 01 April 2016 to 01 April 2017. The starting point of this study is the results from the midline and all monitoring evidence collected subsequently. After considering all limitations of the available datasets, we can comfortably draw some strong trends from selected recurrent strands of evidence like the hunger score. Cash transfers in target areas have significantly boosted food security, nutrition and abilities to cope with shocks.