Trial reportPloS one2020
Cash-based assistance and the nutrition status of pregnant and lactating women in the Somalia food crisis: A comparison of two transfer modalities.
Trial report in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of conditional and unconditional cash transfers on health outcomes and use of health services in humanitarian settings: a mixed-methods systematic review.BMJ global health · 2022Pooled it
- The Effects of Armed Conflict on Healthcare Delivery and Nutritional Services in Somalia: A Narrative Review.Public health challenges · 2026Review
- Exploring the role of cash-based interventions in alleviating food insecurity among the forcibly displaced: the case of Rohingya refugees, Bangladesh.Conflict and health · 2025Article
- Comparing the effectiveness of food baskets and cash transfers to support pregnant and lactating mothers in needy suffering from malnutrition in Iran.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Sexual and reproductive health implementation research in humanitarian contexts: a scoping review.Reproductive health · 2024Article
- Global, Regional, and National Estimates of Nutritional Deficiency Burden among Reproductive Women from 2010 to 2019.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Cash and voucher assistance and children's nutrition status in Somalia.Maternal & child nutrition · 2020Article
- Influence of conditional cash transfer program on prenatal care and nutrition during pregnancy: NISAMI cohort study.Sao Paulo medical journal = Revista paulista de medicinaArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLarge-scale emergency assistance programmes in Somalia use a variety of transfer modalities including in-kind food provision, food vouchers, and cash transfers. Evidence is needed to better understand whether and how such modalities differ in reducing the risk of acute malnutrition in vulnerable groups, such as the 800,000 pregnant and lactating women affected by the 2017/18 food crisis.
methodsChanges in diet and acute malnutrition status were assessed among pregnant and lactating women receiving similarly sized household transfers over a four-month period (total value of ~US$450 per household) delivered either as food vouchers or as mixed transfers consisting of in-kind food, vouchers, and cash. Baseline and endline comparisons were conducted for 514 women in Wajid, Somalia. Primary study outcomes were Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women, meal frequency, and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), with MUAC<21.0 cm classified as acute malnutrition. Adjusted analyses consisted of difference-in-difference analysis using linear and logistic regression models with inverse probability weighting based on propensity scores to account for the non-randomized design.
findingsNo significant difference in change in dietary quality was observed between food voucher and mixed transfer recipients; a significant difference in change in mean meal frequency was observed (0.3 meals/day, CI: 0.1-0.5, p = 0.001) and the mixed transfer group had significantly greater meal frequency at endline (p<0.001). Mean MUAC increased significantly among both voucher (0.9cm, CI: 0.6-1.3, p = 0.001) and mixed transfer recipients (1.3cm, CI: 1.1-1.5, p = 0.001) over the intervention period in adjusted analysis, however, the difference in magnitude of change between the two groups was not statistically significant (0.4cm, CI: -0.1-0.08, p = 0.086).
conclusionsWithin the context of the 2017/18 Somalia food crisis, the modality of assistance provided to pregnant and lactating women (mixed transfers or food-vouchers) made no difference in preventing acute malnutrition and protecting nutritional status.
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