Longitudinal Evaluation of the Influence of WORTH Yetu on Household Economic Status Based on the Count of Non-asset Resources for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children’s Well-being in Tanzania
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Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract
This research uniquely focused on non-assets such as living conditions and children’s quality of life as important indicators of household socioeconomic status, especially in low-income settings where acquiring assets may be challenging. The study assessed the impact of an economic empowerment programme, WORTH Yetu, on economic well-being of households caring for orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Tanzania. Based on longitudinal data from the USAID Kizazi Kipya project, we counted the available non-assets at the household level for OVC well-being, including shelter conditions, clothing quality, school and medical support, and savings within households. The study included 249,655 households (70% with female caregivers) at baseline, with 247,638 of them reached at the follow-up after an average of 1.6 years. Results showed that the mean number of non-assets increased from 0.86 at baseline to 1.04 at the follow-up. Notably, households that participated in the WORTH Yetu programme increased their mean count of non-assets to 1.37 while it was 1.00 among non-participants. In the multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regression model, WORTH Yetu participants were 48% more likely to experience an increase in non-assets at the follow-up compared to non-participants (adjusted incidence-rate ratio (aIRR) = 1.48 [1.46, 1.49]), with notable differences between households with female (aIRR = 1.45 [1.43, 1.47]) and male caregivers (aIRR = 1.53 [1.50, 1.57]). Overall, the WORTH Yetu programme significantly improved the count of non-assets for OVC well-being, but the observed differences in the non-assets based on the caregiver gender suggest varied outcomes for OVC, highlighting the necessity for further research.
Description
Abstract. Full text available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12187-024-10133-6
Keywords
Non-assets, Socioeconomic status, Economic empowerment, Orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC), Gender differences
Citation
Exavery, A., Kirigiti, P. J., Balan, R. T., & Charles, J. (2024). Longitudinal Evaluation of the Influence of WORTH Yetu on Household Economic Status Based on the Count of Non-asset Resources for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children’s Well-being in Tanzania. Child Indicators Research, 1-26.