The impact of a nutrition-sensitive graduation model on child nutrition: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia

Daniel O. Gilligan, Kalle Hirvonen, Jessica Leight, Hiwot Mesfin, Michael Mulford and Haleluya Tesfaye

Project notes from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Abstract: This brief reports on a three-arm cluster randomized controlled trial of 3,015 households evaluating the effectiveness of SPIR II, a nutrition-sensitive graduation model implemented in Ethiopia. The full treatment package—combining nutrition-focused behavior change communication (BCC), village economics and savings associations, monthly maternal cash transfers of US$20, and a one-time livelihood grant of US$300—generates large, sustained improvements in child diet quality, household consumption, livestock holdings, and formal savings. A substantial reduction in childhood stunting (7 percentage points) is observed in the same sub-arm; BCC alone improves caregiver nutrition knowledge but does not lead to improved child feeding or growth. The benefit-cost ratio is nearly two, suggesting the program more than pays for itself.

Keywords: impact; nutrition; child nutrition; modelling; randomized controlled trials; benefit-cost ratio; Ethiopia; Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Eastern Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-11
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https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182850

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fpr:prnote:182850

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