NCT02460848

Effects of Cash Transfers on Severe Acute Malnutrition

Effects of Unconditional Cash Transfers on the Management of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in the Democratic Republic of Congo: a Cluster Randomized Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,600 (actual)
• Sponsor: UNICEF · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Months – 59 Months
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Cash transfer, aims to strengthen food security for vulnerable households by giving families enough purchasing power to consume an adequate and balanced diet, maintain a good standard of hygiene, access health services, and invest in their own means of food production in addition to their children's growth and development. While cash transfer to vulnerable households has shown a long-term positive impact on growth and on malnutrition-related mortality in children aged 0-5 years, there is little conclusive evidence their effectiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa that cash transfer has a direct effect on the Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM). Here, the investigators will perform a cluster-randomized trial to investigate during 6 months the effects of unconditional cash transfers on the management of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in children from 6 to 59 months according to the national protocol in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Conditions

• Severe Malnutrition

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Outpatient therapeutic program, counseling and cash transfer	Each household will receive an unconditional cash transfer of $40 value every month during a 6 months' period. The amount of cash per household per month was defined according to the results of the Household Economy Approach survey. This amount represents 70% of supplement to the monthly average household income characterized as very poor to meet their basic needs. This threshold corresponds to the total of food and income necessary to cover 100% of energy needs food (2100 kcal per day per person), the costs associated with the preparation and consumption of food (e.g. salt, soap, kerosene and / or firewood for cooking and basic lighting) and finally all expenses for access to water for human consumption.
OTHER	Outpatient therapeutic program and counseling

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-07-01
• Primary completion: 2015-11-01
• Completion: 2016-01-01
• First posted: 2015-06-02
• Last updated: 2016-01-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Democratic Republic of the Congo