Meet: Kondwani F. Chikadza,
Programme Manager Social Protection
Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment (IPRSE)
Lilongwe, Malawi
Can you explain us what Social Cash Transfers are and how they can contribute to the AIDS response?
Social Cash Transfers have to be seen in the broader concept of Social Protection. Social Cash Transfers is one component. It entails giving cash to households with the aim of reducing poverty. In Malawi the Social Cash Transfer Scheme is partly conditional and partly unconditional. The scheme targets the 10% of the population that is ultra-poor and labor-constrained. If you meet these criteria you can be involved in the scheme and cash is given monthly with no conditions. This is cash for families. The conditional part is a bonus that is given to make kids go to school. So if you are in the scheme and your kids go to school, you can get the bonus. (currently the scheme is running in 7 districts, but due to funding problems, there has been a hick-up in the distribution of funds for almost a year; payment will be restarted this month though). The Scheme focuses on households, but both household heads and OVC benefit.
HIV and AIDS has a very negative impact on people in Malawi, on households. Many households have lost their revenues because of HIV and AIDS.
Social Protection and Social Cash Transfers particularly can outdo the negative economic impact and can help to mitigate the psychological impact that the HIV and AIDS pandemic has on ALL affected people.
What does the project ‘Strengthening Social Cash Transfer Scheme by Linking and Learning’ entail?
The project is contributing towards a more efficient Social Cash Transfer Scheme in Malawi, towards using the full potential of the mitigation aspect of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme. The goal of our project is to mitigate the economic and psychosocial impact of HIV and AIDS related illness and death on OVC and their caretakers through strengthening the Social Cash Transfer Scheme.
It is a one-year pilot project, that runs currently only in Chitipa District (Northern Malawi). The objectives of the project are: 1. to improve the management and implementation capacity of Chitipa district to deliver social cash transfers (through training and tool development), 2. to improve national, district and community level commitment and support for the implementation of the Social Protection Policy and Social Cash Transfer Scheme (through lobby and advocacy), 3. to improve the linkages between SCTS beneficiaries and other social services (by conducting an assessment of existing and potential interventions). The Action Research is the cross-cutting activity in the project.
Can you describe the aim of the Action Research Project within the overall goal of the project ‘Strengthening Social Cash Transfer Scheme through Linking and Learning.’?
The aim of the Action Research Project relates to the definition of Action Research, which is ‘learning by doing’. Gaps have to be identified and addressed. In Action Research all stakeholders (government and non-state actors) come together to identify gaps and discuss what can be done and who should do what and when. This way all stakeholders become researchers themselves and the role of IPRSE is merely facilitating the Action Research. The national government, district government AND the beneficiaries go in this process hand in hand in designing solutions.
How will the action research take place; and what do you expect as an outcome of this study?
We started with a baseline study in the pilot district, Chitipa. What will follow are 3 cycles of research. The implementing partners and representatives of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development AND of the Ministry of Economic Planning & Development go to Chitipa where we meet with the local stakeholders (district officials and beneficiaries) in a Forum. That Forum is called a Search Forum. 5 steps are followed by the Forum:
- to identify jointly the problem; this is called ‘problem diagnosis’
- then look at the roots of the problems; we call that ‘root cause identification’
- the we jointly identify the relevant authority to take care of that root cause and suggest solutions; interesting is that there usually actions to be taken by each stakeholder, there is a contribution to be made by everyone
- the implementation follows
- and then the monitoring
Three months later we meet again to look if the actions have been implemented. If not, we start the cycle all over again.
We follow this cycle for every problem that we identify, and in every cycle new problems will be identified.
At the end of the project there will be an ‘impact assessment’, which is then in line with the baseline. Considering the fact that this is a one year pilot project, the objectives have not been set too high, and the project will produce outputs and some small outcomes, not yet impact.
Outcomes of the research activities?
We hope to contribute to a more efficient Social Cash Transfer scheme:
- Adequate human resources at district and community level
- At national level we hope the findings will feed into the advocacy for predictable, long-term Cash Transfers
- Linkages between beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme and (other) services at district and community level
More directly we hope to build the capacity of the stakeholders in Chitipa ánd the STOP AIDS NOW! partners in Malawi in Action Research.
“They are the researchers, we (IPRSE) are the facilitators.”
‘they’ are the stakeholders at the district level:
- beneficiaries
- government officials at district level
- traditional leaders
Through Action Research we try to achieve social empowerment of the people. That is the most important outcome of this Research Project, the empowerment. We at IPRSE strongly believe in that.
How does the IPRSE collaborate with the other local STOP AIDS NOW! partners in Malawi?
IPRSE has only recently been introduced in the STOP AIDS NOW! partnership, but we have been collaborating with some of the partners in the past on Social Protection, e.g. in the Civil Society Platform on Social Protection. We jointly do evidence-based policy advocacy and therefore share the findings of our researches always with others.
In the STOP AIDS NOW! project ‘Strengthening Social Cash Transfers through Linking and Learning we work together with NOVOC, CEYCA and YONECO. The roles are defined based on the strengths of each partner. NOVOC is the coordinating organization, IPRSE takes the lead in the Action Research, CEYCA in advocacy at national level and YONECO at creating the linkages at local level. NOVOC and IPRSE jointly lead the capacity building.
Can you share with us your personal views on how research can contribute to our work to fight the AIDS pandemic?
HIV and AIDS continue to impose serious negative impact on the people. There is need for preventive and curative interventions that WORK. We thus need evidence to support the intervention. Research is to ‘discover what can be done and how’. So as to have realistic interventions in this political and economic context, research comes in. Otherwise we would be doing the interventions that we ‘feel’ are the right ones, but with no evidence to support that. For example, we find young girls in the streets working in prostitution. Once you understand WHY they are on the streets, you can design an intervention. You first need to know what the root causes are, in order to be able to address them. ‘Research can uncover the root causes.’
About IPRSE
The Institute for Policy Research and Social Empowerment (IPRSE) is a Malawian registered Think-tank working towards the promotion of progressive thinking in Malawi, through well researched and clearly argued policy analysis, discussion papers, reports and publications. IPRSE’s mission is to enhance public policy debate through policy entrepreneurship and advocacy informed by analytically rigorous research and positive engagement with stakeholders at all levels of society to facilitate transformation and renewal by seeking pragmatic and innovative solutions to development challenges, livelihood and prosperity. One of the areas of expertise of IPRSE is Social Protection.
