Lesotho
Lesotho’s Child Grants Programme
| Year Programme Began: | 2009 |
| Implementing Ministry: | Ministry of Social Development |
| Target Group: | Poor households with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) |
| Conditions: | None |
| Approximate Reach (as of 2015): | 25,000 households (as of 2015) |
The Lesotho Child Grants Programme (CGP) provides an unconditional cash transfer to poor and vulnerable households with the primary objective of improving the living standards of Orphan and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) through better nutrition and health status and increase school enrolment. The CGP is targeted at poor households with children, including child headed households. Households are paid quarterly with benefit sizes varying according to the number of children in the household. In mid-2015 the quarterly benefit size was approximately US$36 for 1-2 children, US$60 for 3-4 children and US$75 for 5+ children. Poverty eligibility is based on a proxy means score using the National Information System for Social Assistance (NISSA) plus a community validation.
Linking Food Security to Social Protection Programme (LFSSP)
| Year Programme Began: | 2013 |
| Implementing Ministry: | Ministry of Social Development |
| Target Group: | Poor households with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) |
| Conditions: | None |
| Approximate Reach (as of 2015): | 25,000 households (as of 2015) |
To strengthen the impact of the CGP on poverty, FAO Lesotho began a pilot initiative in 2013, called Linking Food Security to Social Protection Programme (LFSSP). It sought to improve food security among poor and vulnerable households by providing vegetable seeds and training on homestead gardening to CGP beneficiaries.
Sustainable Poverty Reduction through Government Service Support (SPRINGS)
| Year Programme Began: | 2015 |
| Implementing Ministry: | Ministry of Social Development |
| Target Group: | Poor households with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) |
| Conditions: | None |
| Approximate Reach (as of 2015): | 25,000 households (as of 2015) |
The CGP and LFSSP impact evaluation results encouraged a more comprehensive livelihood programme in 2015, called the Sustainable Poverty Reduction through Government Service Support (SPRINGS). The programme provides support in the form of: i) Community-based savings and lending groups, with financial education, known as Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC); ii) Homestead gardening, including support to keyhole gardens and vegetable seeds distribution; iii) Nutrition training through Community-led Complementary Feeding and Learning Sessions (CCFLS); iv) Market clubs for training on market access; v) One Stop Shop / Citizen Services Outreach Days.
| Type | Title | Theme(s) | Year | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal Article | Evaluating spillovers and cost-effectiveness of complementary agricultural and social protection interventions: evidence from Lesotho | Poverty Reduction and Food Security; Programme Evaluation and Design; Resilience and Productive Impacts | 2023 | N/A |
| Dataset | Lesotho: Child Grant Programme | Lestotho: Child Grant Programme | ||
| Report | Impact of increases in food prices on consumer welfare in Lesotho | Humanitarian Settings | Impact of increases in food prices on consumer welfare in Lesotho | |
| Journal Article | Impact of food prices increase among Lesotho's poorest | Humanitarian Settings | Impact of food prices increase among Lesotho’s poorest |
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| Journal Article | Heterogeneous impacts of cash transfers on farm profitability. Evidence from a randomised study in Lesotho | Resilience and Productive Impacts | 2020 | Prifti E, Daidone S, Pace N, Davis B (2020)Heterogeneous impacts of cash transfers on farm profitability. Evidence from a randomised study in Lesotho,European Review of Agricultural Economics, jbz050,https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbz050 |
| Journal Article | Cash Transfers and Gender Differentials in Child Schooling and Labor: Evidence from the Lesotho Child Grants Programme | Education and Child Labour | 2019 | Sebastian A, la O Campos A. P, Daidone S, Pace N, Davis B, Niang O. and Pellerano L. (2019). Cash Transfers and Gender Differentials in Child Schooling and Labor: Evidence from the Lesotho Child Grants Programme. Population and Development Review. |
| Journal Article | Causal pathways of the productive impacts of cash transfer: Experimental evidence from Lesotho | Resilience and Productive Impacts | 2019 | Prifti E, Daidone S and Davis B. (2019). Causal pathways of the productive impacts of cash transfer: Experimental evidence from Lesotho. World Development, 115: 258-268. |
| Journal Article | Shaping Cash Transfer Impacts Through 'Soft-Conditions': Evidence from Lesotho | Programme Evaluation and Design | 2018 | Pace N, Daidone S, Davis B and Pellerano L. (2018). Shaping Cash Transfer Impacts Through ‘Soft-Conditions’: Evidence from Lesotho. Journal of African Economies, ejy009. |
| Journal Article | Impact of increases in food prices on consumer welfare in Lesotho | Poverty Reduction and Food Security | 2017 | Prifti E, Daidone S and Miguelez B. (2017).Impact of increases in food prices on consumer welfare in Lesotho. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 12(1): 52-61 |
| Journal Article | Effects of treatment beyond the treated: a general equilibrium impact evaluation of Lesotho's cash grants program | Poverty Reduction and Food Security | 2015 | Filipski MJ, Taylor JE, Thome KE and Davis B. (2015). Effects of treatment beyond the treated: a general equilibrium impact evaluation of Lesotho’s cash grants program. Agricultural Economics, 46(2): 139280 |
| Book Chapter | Does Evidence Matter? Role of the Evaluation of the Child Grants Programme in the Consolidation of the Social Protection Sector in Lesotho. In From evidence to action: The story of cash transfers and impact evaluation in sub-Saharan Africa. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press | 2016 | Pellerano L, Daidone S, Davis B, Farooq M, Homayoun M, Kardan A, Masasa M, Niang O, Ramirez B and Safi N. (2016). Does Evidence Matter? Role of the Evaluation of the Child Grants Programme in the Consolidation of the Social Protection Sector in Lesotho. In From evidence to action: The story of cash transfers and impact evaluation in sub-Saharan Africa. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. | |
| Working and Position Paper | Feed Thy Neighbour: how Social Ties shape Spillover Effects of Cash Transfers on Food Security and Nutrition | Health, Nutrition, and Well-Being; Poverty Reduction and Food Security | 2019 | Carraro A and Ferrone L. (2019).Feed Thy Neighbour: how Social Ties shape Spillover Effects of Cash Transfers on Food Security and Nutrition. Working Paper N.21/2019, DISEI, Universit`a degli Studi di Firenze. |
| Journal Article | Myth-busting? Confronting Six Common Perceptions about Unconditional Cash Transfers as a Poverty Reduction Strategy in Africa. World Bank Research Observer, 33(2): 259 298 | 2018 | Handa S, Daidone S, Peterman A, Davis B, Pereira A, Palermo T, Yablonski J on behalf of the Transfer Project (2018). Myth-busting? Confronting Six Common Perceptions about Unconditional Cash Transfers as a Poverty Reduction Strategy in Africa. World Bank Research Observer, 33(2): 259 298. | |
| Journal Article | The livelihood impacts of cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Beneficiary perspectives from six countries | Gender and Gender-Based Violence | 2017 | Fisher E, Attah R, Barca V, O’Brien C, Brook S, Holland J, Kardan A, Pavanello S and Pozarny P. (2017). The livelihood impacts of cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa: Beneficiary perspectives from six countries. World Development, 99: 299-319. |
| Working and Position Paper | Myth-busting? Confronting six common perceptions about unconditional cash transfers as a poverty reduction strategy in Africa. Innocenti Working Papers no. 2017-11, UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, Florence | 2017 | Handa S, Daidone S, Peterman A, Davis B, Pereira A, Palermo T and Yablonski J. (2017). Myth-busting? Confronting six common perceptions about unconditional cash transfers as a poverty reduction strategy in Africa. Innocenti Working Papers no. 2017-11, UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, Florence. | |
| Brief | The impact of cash transfers on food security | Poverty Reduction and Food Security | 2016 | Hjelm L. (2016). The impact of cash transfers on food security. Transfer Project Research Brief 2016-01. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. |
| Brief | The broad range of cash transfer impacts in sub-Saharan Africa: Consumption, Human Capital and Productive Activity | Adolescents; Health, Nutrition, and Well-Being | 2014 | Davis B and Handa S. (2014). The broad range of cash transfer impacts in sub-Saharan Africa: Consumption, Human Capital and Productive Activity. Transfer Project Research Brief. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. |
| Brief | The Cost of Social Cash Transfer Programs in sub-Saharan Africa | Programme Evaluation and Design | 2013 | Plavgo I, de Milliano M and Handa S. (2013).The Cost of Social Cash Transfer Programs in sub-Saharan Africa. Transfer Project Research Brief 2013-01. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. |
| Brief | Evaluating the Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. IPC-UNDP Research Brief | Programme Evaluation and Design | 2012 | Davis B, Gaarder M, Handa S and Yablonski J. (2012). Evaluating the Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. IPC-UNDP Research Brief. |
| Journal Article | Can Social Protection Affect Psychosocial Wellbeing and Why Does This Matter? Lessons from Cash Transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa | Health, Nutrition, and Well-Being | 2016 | Attah R, Barca V, Kardan K, MacAuslan I, Merttens F andPellerano L. (2016). Can Social Protection Affect Psychosocial Wellbeing and Why Does This Matter? Lessons from Cash Transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Journal of Development Studies, 52(8). |
| Journal Article | Impact of cash transfer programs on food security and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-country analysis | Poverty Reduction and Food Security | 2016 | Daidone S, Ruvalcaba MA, Prifti E, Handa S, Davis B, Niang O, Pellerano L, Quarles van Ufford P and Seidenfeld D. (2016).Impact of cash transfer programs on food security and nutrition in sub-Saharan Africa: A cross-country analysis. Global Food Security, 11: 72-83. |
| Journal Article | Is Graduation from Social Safety Nets Possible? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa | Poverty Reduction and Food Security; Resilience and Productive Impacts | 2015 | Daidone, S, Pellerano, L, Handa, S and Davis, B. (2015),Is Graduation from Social Safety Nets Possible? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa. IDS Bulletin, 46:93102. doi:10.1111/1759-5436.12132 |
| Brief | The Impact of Social Cash Transfers on Schooling in Africa: An Update from the Transfer Project. The Transfer Project Research Brief 2015-01 | Education and Child Labour | 2015 | Handa S and de Milliano M. (2015). The Impact of Social Cash Transfers on Schooling in Africa: An Update from the Transfer Project. The Transfer Project Research Brief 2015-01. Chapel Hill, NC: Carolina Population Center, UNC-Chapel Hill. |
Lesotho Child Grant Programme, Baseline 2011
Lesotho Child Grant Programme, Follow-Up 2013
Lesotho Child Grants Programme and the Sustainable Poverty Reduction through Income, Nutrition and access to Government Services 2018
Lesotho Child Grant Programme (CGP)
| Data Collection | |
| Years: | 2011 (baseline), 2013 (endline) |
| Sample Size: | 1531 eligible households, half in control areas and the other half in treatment areas. A further 1571 non-eligible households from sampled villages were also surveyed to gather information on targeting and spillover effects. |
| Location: | Four community councils |
| Evaluation Design: | Longitudinal Randomized Design, with randomization conducted at the Enumeration District (ED) level. |
| Key Partners/Implementers: | Lesotho Ministry of Social Development OPM – Oxford Policy Managment |
| Funders: | EU – European Union |
| Reports |
Costing Study: The historic and future costs of the CGP and its affordability (2014) |