A new paper by Tilman Brück, O.M. Dias Botia, N. T. N. Ferguson, J. Ouédraogo and Z. Ziegelhoefer titled “Assets For Alimentation? The Nutritional Impact Of Assets-Based Programming In Niger” has been published in the UNICEF – Innocenti Working Papers Series.
A recent strand of aid programming aims to develop household assets by removing the stresses associated with meeting basic nutritional needs. In this paper, authors posit that such programmes can also boost nutrition in recipient households by encouraging further investment in diet. To test this hypothesis, they study the World Food Programme’s “Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO)” in Niger, a conflict-affected, low income country with a high share of malnourishment. The authors conclude, first, that certain forms of food aid function well in complex, insecure environments; second, that assets-based programmes deliver positive nutritional spillovers; and, third, that there are theoretical grounds to believe that asset-based programmes interact positively with more nutrition-focussed programming.
The complete paper can be found here.
