IDinsight & GiveDirectly Video Narration - Informative - Believable
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EnglishVoice Age
Middle Aged (35-54)Accents
African (General) East African (General) Kenyan (East Africa)Transcript
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Today, million people equivalent to the population of Germany have been forced to flee their homes in South Sudan. One in three people have fled to neighboring countries like Uganda to escape ongoing violence, refugees face poverty and food insecurity. Recent studies show that large cash transfers can boost the income and quality of life of people in poverty. But the question is can a large cash transfer of $1,000 improve refugees lives and can cash transfers help refugees amid aid cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic. These are the questions that I. D. insight addressed in refugees, shocks and cash transfers. A one time transfer of $1,000 provides lasting benefits to refugees in Uganda amid COVID-19. The N. G. O. Give directly wanted to evaluate the impact of their cash transfer program in Kiryandongo refugee settlement. It was not possible to distribute the cash all at once. So to ensure cash was distributed fairly and transparently, I. D. Insight and give directly used a public lottery system. In Uganda, 10,000 South Sudanese refugee households were randomly assigned to one of 24 cohorts. Each month, households of one cohort were selected to receive a one time cash transfer of $1000. The first two cohorts became the treatment group, whereas three later ones served as the control the I. D. Insight team found that a one time cash transfer given right at the beginning of the covid 19 pandemic improved refugees living conditions up to two years later compared to those who did not receive the cash transfer. The following was observed in recipient households, They consumed more goods and services, 11% more each month. Around as much as households spend on educational expenses, they had 61% more in assets. Many households made home improvements such as adding a room or installing a metal roof. Some of them started small businesses and now earned 64% more business revenue. How can this information be used to better support refugees in many contexts, refugees flee their home country having lost everything and become dependent on aid agencies or local government to meet their basic needs in their new country. It's therefore a major in period of policymakers to figure out how to get them back on their feet again. In our study, we wanted to understand whether giving a large one time influx of cash would allow refugees to improve their quality of life even after the cash had run out. And indeed we find it does. Now, I think one thing that's important to know is that context matters. Uganda. They have a very permissive refugee policies such that refugees can move throughout the country and start businesses and hold jobs. We think that this was a really key aspect to making the cash transfer program work since refugees were able to invest their cash into productive activities