Nigeria’s ₦5,000 cash transfer increased households welfare – World Bank

The World Bank said on Friday the Federal Government’s ₦5,000 cash transfer scheme has increased households’ and women’s welfare over time.

However, the Bretton Wood institution noted that the scheme had little impact on household consumption and financial inclusion.

The World Bank stated these in its latest report titled: “Beta Don Come: Effects of Cash Transfers on Women and Households in Nigeria’, obtained by Ripples Nigeria.

It added that the government’s intervention had a limited impact on employment, especially for women.

The World Bank cited the cash transfer programme when the federal government launched the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) in 2016.

The report read: “At the launch of the programme the Federal Government provided households with a cash transfer of N 5,000, disbursed as a lump sum every two months.

“Payments were given to each household’s primary caregiver — predominantly women.

“In contrast to the substantial increases in household savings, we find no significant effects on overall household consumption, women’s employment, or financial inclusion.

” These results imply that Nigeria’s flagship cash transfer program increased households’ and women’s welfare over time.

READ ALSO: Economic hardship: Nigeria to restart direct cash transfer to 12 million homes

“Nonetheless, the limited impacts on overall consumption and women’s economic activity suggest that there is still scope for a complementary livelihood support intervention to generate sustainable improvements in households’ self-sufficiency.”

The agency, however, recommended a complementary livelihood programme to support the intervention and generate sustainable improvements in households’ self-sufficiency.

“Program participation improved several dimensions of households’ and women’s welfare over time.

“Households in communities that entered the program earlier experience larger increases in household savings and food security, along with increased access to farmland and livestock ownership, compared to similar households in communities that entered the program later.

“We also find improvements in caregivers’ self-reported happiness, decision-making autonomy over how to spend their own income, and freedom of movement.

“Positive impacts appear to primarily result from the saving mobilisation component of the program.

“Households are substantially more likely to save the longer they have been receiving cash transfers and to switch away from exclusively using cash for household consumption.

“However, in contrast to these strong positive impacts, we do not find any statistically significant effects on overall household consumption or on caregivers’ employment and financial inclusion.”

The World Bank also said despite the efficacy of the CCT programme, there is no evidence of “the impacts of participating in the program at all,” it added.

By: Babajide Okeowo

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