Research on Food Assistance For Nutritional Impact Synthesis Report

The REFANI project was implemented to strengthen the evidence base on the nutritional impact and cost-effectiveness of cash and voucher-based food assistance programmes, as well as identify the mechanisms through which this effectiveness is achieved.

In a comprehensive literature review published in March 2015, the REFANI consortium partners identified what was currently known about the nutritional impact of cash transfer programmes (CTPs) in food assistance and nutrition programming, as well as the gaps that remain in the existing evidence base. REFANI tailored its research questions to directly target these evidence gaps through a series of nutritional impact country studies in Pakistan, Niger, and Somalia. In tandem to the nutritional effectiveness research, REFANI’s cost-effectiveness analysis has also provided critical value for impact evidence.