The influence of cash transfer programmes on socio-economic wellbeing of recipient households in Migori county, Kenya

Conditional cash transfers are increasingly becoming a best practice in the social sector for developing countries. In 2004, Orphans and Vulnerable Children Cash Transfer was introduced on pilot basis in Kenya. This was in response to the impact of HIV/Aids on children. A study carried out by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (2006) show poverty rates tend to be higher among vulnerable groups such as children (53.5%), including orphans and vulnerable children (54.1%). Kenya’s Cash Transfer Program for Orphans and Vulnerable Children delivers cash to households, which they can use to pay for food, clothes, and services like education and health. Though the program was not intended to address poverty as a primary objective, the government of Kenya has in the past two decades placed several measures to protect the rights, livelihoods, vulnerability to poverty and self-development of the most vulnerable populations in the country. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of cash transfer programme on the socio-economic wellbeing of recipient households in Migori County of Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine the influence of cash transfers on shelter provision of the OVC, to evaluate the effects of cash transfers on livelihoods of households and to evaluate the effects of cash transfers on the food security of households in Migori County. The target population for this study was 1,460 total beneficiaries who are under the cash transfer program. Stratified random sampling was used to divide the target into subgroups and simple random sample taken from each subgroup to select respondents per subgroup. The targeted sample size (of total beneficiaries) was 101 participants, of which 86 responded. The study used descriptive research design to establish the cause-effect relationship among a group of variables. Survey questionnaire, Key Informant Interviews and observation of personal characteristics such as disability of the respondents were used to collect primary data. Quantitative analysis used tools such as percentages, mean, standard deviations and graphs to summarize the data from the questionnaires. The unit of analysis were households. The findings indicated that cash transfers led to households’ ability to provide shelter and that vulnerable groups used cash transfers to sustain livelihoods. Households reported that money was used to provide shelter and to pay rent. The beneficiaries spent money on school requirements like books or pens for their dependents, with five household heads reporting to have used the money to buy small livestock like goats and chicken, improving their economic wellbeing. Households reported an increase in the number of meals, though could not always afford balanced meals. The study concluded cash was used to provide housing to OVC households, led to an improvement in food security and improved livelihoods. Consequently, the study recommended in similar modalities, as a practice, an additional focus on nutrition education will further enhance food security. The research also leads to a number of recommendations for operational improvement by practitioners such as improve communication with beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries as well as regular and predictable payments. For policy formulators, the researcher notes that social cash transfers can become a critical instrument of national poverty-reduction and social development strategies across Kenya.