24-Month Impact Report for the Child Grant Programme - Zambia

Abstract

In 2010, the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH) began implementing the Child Grant social cash transfer program (CGP) in three districts: Kalabo, Kaputa, and Shangombo. The CGP targets households with children under age 5 living in program districts and provides each household with 60 kwacha (ZMW), or roughly U.S. $12, a month, regardless of household size. Payments are made every other month, and there are no conditions to receive the money. An impact evaluation was conducted as the program was implemented to learn its effects on recipients and provide evidence for deciding the future of the program. American Institutes for Research (AIR) was contracted by UNICEF Zambia in 2010 to design and implement a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for a 3-year impact evaluation of the program and to conduct the necessary data collection, analysis, and reporting.1 This report presents findings after 24 months of program implementation, including impacts on expenditures, poverty, food security, children under age 5, children older than 5, and the economy