Abstract
To examine associations between receipt of an electronic food voucher (e-voucher) compared to food rations on the nutritional status of Rohingya children living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. This is an associational study using cross-sectional data. We measured heights and weights of 523 children aged between 6 and 23 months in households receiving either a food ration consisting of rice, pulses, vegetable oil (362 children) or an e-voucher (161 children) that could be used to purchase 19 different foods. Data were also collected on the characteristics of their mothers and the households in which they lived, including household demographics, consumption and expenditure, coping strategies, livelihoods and income profiles, and access to assistance. Associations between measures of anthropometric status (height-for-age z scores, stunting, weight-for-height z scores, wasting, weight-for-age z scores and mid-upper arm circumference) and household receipt of the e-voucher were estimated using ordinary least squares regressions. Control variables included child, maternal, household and locality characteristics. The study received ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board of the International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC. Household receipt of an e-voucher was associated with improved linear growth in children. This association is robust to the inclusion of maternal, household and location characteristics. The magnitude of the association is 0.38 SD (CI: 0.01, 0.74), and statistically significant at the five percent level. We cannot reject the null hypothesis that these associations differ by child sex. Receipt of an e-voucher is not associated with stunting when a full set of control variables are included. There is no association between receipt of e-vouchers and weight-for-length, weight-for-age or mid-upper arm circumference. We cannot reject the null hypothesis that these associations differ by child sex. In a humanitarian assistance setting, Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, household receipt of an electronic food voucher instead of a food ration is associated with improvements in the linear growth of children between 6 and 23 months but not in measures of acute undernutrition or other anthropometric outcomes. Our associational evidence indicates that transitioning from food rations to electronic food vouchers does not adversely affect child nutritional status.
Highlights
The number of forcibly displaced persons exceeds 70 million [1]
In a humanitarian assistance setting, Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, household receipt of an electronic food voucher instead of a food ration is associated with improvements in the linear growth of children between 6 and 23 months but not in measures of acute undernutrition or other anthropometric outcomes
Our associational evidence indicates that transitioning from food rations to electronic food vouchers does not adversely affect child nutritional status
Summary
The number of forcibly displaced persons exceeds 70 million [1]. Considerable efforts, human and financial resources are devoted to providing humanitarian assistance to these persons. In Somalia, relative to a control group, REFANI found that providing cash had no impact on global acute malnutrition (GAM), height-for-age z scores (HAZ) or stunting. The REFANI Pakistan study assessed the impact of providing cash for six months, a “double cash” transfer and a fresh food voucher worth relative to a control group that received no payments. Cash, the double cash and fresh food voucher arms improved HAZ and reduced stunting. In Niger, the REFANI study found no evidence that providing cash to poor household for six months rather than four had no impacts on weight-for-height z scores (WHZ), GAM, HAZ, or stunting. A different study, situated in Niger, assessed the impact of providing cash, finding that relative to a control group, children in the cash treatment arm saw greater improvements in WHZ [6]. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Grellety et al [7] find that children in households receiving cash transfers recover from severe acute malnutrition faster than children in control households who did not receive a cash transfer
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
