Cash Plus in Practice: Integrating Nutrition and Access to Services in the PSNP in Ethiopia

The fourth phase of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP4) was launched in 2015, introducing several innovations designed to strengthen the programme and its multiple impacts. The ‘cash plus’ Improved Nutrition through Integrated Basic Social Services with Social Cash Transfer (IN-SCT) pilot is implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) under the umbrella of PSNP4 in SNNP and Oromia regions. It tests a model of case management and integrated package of nutrition-sensitive interventions aiming to improve multiple outcomes in the areas of nutrition, health, education and access to complementary social services. The system relies on social workers, who are the driving workforce behind this integrated systems approach. This policy brief presents findings based on the qualitative midline evaluation and additional operational research assessing service providers’ and clients’ perceptions in SNNP region. Research took place in five kebeles2 in accessible and more remote areas in Halaba and Shashego woredas. It included 31 key informant interviews with service providers, 31 focus group discussions with PSNP- and non-clients, 5 discussions with Community Care Coalitions and 22 case studies with PSNP clients. Analysis clearly points towards the importance of a systems-approach for improving multiple outcomes of social cash transfers, the need for building capacity among service providers for making such a systems-approach work and the engagement with other sectors, including agriculture and WASH, to reinforce and sustain positive impacts.