- Title
- The impact of social cash transfers on children's wellbeing : a case study of the Harmonized Social Cash Transfer Scheme in selected households in the Epworth District of Zimbabwe
- Creator
- Chawatama, Christopher Taurai
- Subject
- Child welfare Social work with children Family social work
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Thesis
- Type
- Masters
- Type
- MSoc
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11298
- Identifier
- vital:39054
- Description
- This study investigated the impact of the Harmonized Social Cash Transfer Scheme (HSCT) on the children’s wellbeing specifically on their education, health, food consumption and nutrition as well as on child labour practices. The study area was Epworth District where the study sample, respondents and participants were drawn. Semi structured in-depth interviews and survey questionnaires were used to collect data. What was problematized in the study was that although social cash transfers have gained traction as a poverty alleviation tool used by many governments, their authenticity, sensitiveness and impact on child wellbeing is still being questioned. The study yielded that the HSCT generally led to the improvement of the beneficiary children’s wellbeing. In terms of education the HSCT contributed positively towards children school enrolment, school attendance, school performance and also significantly reduced school absenteeism. Furthermore, the HSCT also removed underlying impediments such as transport costs and consultation fees that prevented the poor from accessing health care facilities. However poor service delivery by government health facilities has threatened to derail initiatives and milestones achieved by the HSCT in improving the health of children. It emerged from the study that the HSCT led to the improvement of the children’s food consumption particularly in terms of quantity. However in terms of quality not much success was recorded because of the small value of the transfer money and also escalating food prices. In addition, the HSCT also led to the reduction of child labour practices as children were enrolled and kept in school hence making them unavailable for work. Money availability also saw external labour being hired to work instead of children. The study noted that the small value of the HSCT is an impediment to the full realisation of child wellbeing. Not much success was recorded in enhancing the nutritional composition of the meals because of the small equitable access to health care was not achieved since private health facilities charge exorbitant fees. Additionally child labour practices could not be totally eliminated because additional income was still needed. The study recommends that for maximum results to be reaped on child wellbeing social cash transfers need to be supplemented and complemented by interventions that strengthens the livelihoods of household. It is also vital to reinforce the goods and services supply infrastructure. This entails the government’s action in strengthening schools, government health facilities and enhancing overall food security in the communities.
- Format
- 157 leaves
- Format
- Publisher
- University name of Fort Hare
- Publisher
- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University name of Fort Hare
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UFH Department of Social Work & Social Development
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | MSW FINAL EDITED BINDING EL.pdf | 2 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |