The Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) aims to support vulnerable households through its productive social safety net program, which has shown significant impacts in reducing poverty and improving livelihoods, education, and health among participants. The program includes components such as cash transfers, community sessions, and training for adults and adolescents, with a notable focus on a 'Cash Plus' model for youth, enhancing both economic activities and life skills. Key findings indicate improvements in food diversity, agricultural productivity, and school attendance, while also fostering more equitable attitudes towards gender among participants.

1. Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF)
Tanzania’s Productive Social Safety Net
programme
Presented to the Transfer Project workshop
Arusha, April 3rd 2019
S. Masala, T. Mwaruka and P. Kijazi
TASAF Management Unit

2. Presentation outline
1. PSSN intervention and graduation logic and
impact on households, adolescents and
women
– Discussion
2. PSSN Livelihoods Enhancement component
and the Adolescent Cash Plus model
– Discussion

3. +
CCTs
(HH with children and
pregnant women)
Incl. monthly community
sessions
PWP
(HH with adults able
to work)
Plus savings
promotion
PSSN: A system to support the poor and vulnerable in
Tanzania
Income
generating
activities,
Savings,
Training
Education, health and
nutrition services
Human capital accumulation and
sustained reduction of poverty
v
Smooth
consumption,
accumulation of
assets
v
Participation for several years
*A household becomes a beneficiary of both programs
Unified registry of
Beneficiaries
Common
targeting

4. TASAF-PSSN graduation strategies
• TASAF-PSSN phase II will apply the following
graduation strategies
– Recertification of programme participants
• Combination of community-based listing and proxy
means-test
• Can lead to exit or to continued stay in the programme
– Voluntary exit (following communication
campaign)
– Automatic Exit after completion of cycle of
Livelihood Enhancement activities

5. MAIN IMPACT FINDINGS
4/10/2019 9

6. ThePSSNfurther reduced theshareof
householdsliving under theabsolute poverty line
 In absence of the program, and thanks to improvements in Tanzanian economic
situation,basicneedspovertydecreased(1.8%) compared tobaseline
 However,there wasa slight increasein the adjusted food poverty (0.7%)
 Separately, theprogramgeneratedan additional decreasein povertyof 10%
and12% respectively
69.2 67.9
61.1
0
20
40
60
80
100
Baseline Control PSSN
BelowBasic Needs
Poverty Line (%)
63.5 64.0
56.3
100
80
60
40
20
0
Baseline Control PSSN
BelowAdjusted Food
Poverty Line (%)

7. Fooddiversity increased, related to better
performance of children & adults at school/work
 Without the program, the likelihoodof low dietary diversity increasedby 2.8
p.p. Howeverwith theprogram, the likelihood of low dietary diversity decreased
by 6.1 p.p.
 Intheabsenceof theprogram, theshareof householdsundera PoorFood
ConsumptionScore(FCS)decreased by 11.1 p.p. compared to the baseline, the
program generated anadditional decrease of 4 p.p.
54.1
50.1
Shareof householdsfalling
under Poor FCS
65.0
Baseline Control PSSN
73.0 75.8
69.7
Likelihood of LowDietary
Diversity (%)
Baseline Control PSSN

8. Theprogram intensified farming activities, and
increased investmentin productive assets
61.0
78.7
100
90
80 72.2
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Baseline Control PSSN
35.9
42.1
60.7
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
 Inabsenceof theprogram there wasan overall improvementonthelikelihoodof
cultivating a farm and owninglivestock,by 1.2 p.p., and 6.2 p.p. each
 Theprogram further improved theseproductiveoutcomes:
Shareof householdscultivatingany farm plotincreasedby 6.5p.p.
Shareof owningany livestock by18.6 p.p.,whichisalso related to improved
resiliencetoshocks
Cultivate any farm plot (%) Own any livestock (%)
Baseline Control PSSN

9. Householdshad morecapacity to respond to shocks
and relied lessonnegative copingstrategies
 Theprogram reduced negative coping strategies in general (CSIreduced by
16.7%), driven by a decrease in household’sreliance onrelatives/friends (by 5.4
p.p.)
Note: higher CSImeanshigher risk (i.e. negative) coping strategies
7.8
6.5
10
8
6
4
2
0
Coping Strategies Index (CSI)
Control PSSN
18.6
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Help from Relatives/Friends (%)
26.0
Control PSSN

10. No effect onhealth expenditure, but program
increased registration to health insurancethreefold
 Registration to CHFisnota PSSNco-responsibility, however,the program hasmade
important efforts to promote enrolment.Thisisin line with findings from spot checks
11.0
32.7
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
 No impact onhealth related expenditures
 Partly explained by the threefoldincreasein shareof householdshaving at least
onememberregisteredunderCommunityHealthFund(increaseby 21.7 p.p.)
Health Insurance (%)
Control PSSN

11. School attendance by treatment status and interview wave
Children ages 4-16 at baseline
0
.2.4.6.8
1
4 6 8 10 12 14 16 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Baseline Endline
School Attendance Impact School Attendance Impact
Treatment Control
Age at baseline

12. Education
[Qualitative findings]
“My young brothers were having problems to attend
school because they had no uniforms and exercise books,
but now they attend school without any problems.”
[19-year old male, Mbogwe]
“I have seen big improvements in my life and family as a
whole. I have school uniforms, food and exercise books. I
see myself as having someone to hold my hand and assist
me, and for now I am hoping to study up to form six if
TASAF will continue to release funds. As a family we own
chicken and goats and we are planning to have more as
assets. I am working hard in my class and I am sure I will
perform well in my exams”.
[17-year old male, Itilima]

13. LIVELIHOODS ENHANCEMENT

14. Livelihoods Enhancement
Framework
18
Conditional Cash Transfer – consumption support +
intergenerational poverty reduction
Public Works – consumption support
Basic skills/awareness
training
Productive
Grant
“Light coaching” provided via continued participation of HH in CCT
Savings (COMSP, mobile money, individual)
START
Extreme
poverty
PW
continues
Some HHs eligible for
Grant

15. Livelihoods Enhancement Framework
Productive GrantBasic skills and awareness training on
economic activities
Savings promotion (COMSIP,
A scheme which responds to proposals
put forward by beneficiary households
applying for the grant to start/ improve
their IGAs. Eligibility:
- Participated in LE orientation sessions
- Participated in basic skills and savings
training
- Participated in a business preparation
training
- Prepared business plan for his IGA
Modality: One-time grant
Agrees to:
- Participate in orientation session on
use of grant, including being linked
to training on the chosen LE option
and livelihood opportunities
- Provision of regular hands-on support
to beneficiaries during
implementation
Training beneficiaries on LE
opportunities, transformation,
marketing, entrepreneurship skills,
business plans preparation, record
keeping. Eligibility: all households
Savings are made with the purpose of
increasing the ability of program
beneficiaries to save for future needs
and investments.
Content: LE opportunities, constitution
preparation, savings mobilization, loan
and conflict management, record
keeping
Eligibility: all households with labor
capacity
Coaching and mentoring

16. Livelihood Enhancement:
Implementation status
• ToTs on Basic skills on economic activities have been conducted in
eight PAAs.
• Pilot training to beneficiaries was done in Bagamoyo, where
beneficiaries were able to prepare proposals including business plans
and applied for productive grants. However, the roll out of the training
and provision of productive grants were not done as the two activities
were rescheduled to July 2019
• A total of 11,699 Savings groups have been formed comprising of
151,821 beneficiaries (112,962 F and 38,859 M)
• Pilot on behavioural design activities is on progress
• Support to adolescents and youth through pilot interventions has been
done, which include training on business skills and provision of
productive grants is on progress (Cash Plus)
•
20

17. LIVELIHOODS ENHANCEMENT –
CASH PLUS

18. • Adolescents: a key population to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty
• PSSN has a positive impact on safe transitions to adulthood
• The youth well-being impact evaluation highlighted positive changes for
young people in PSSN families in fields of education, basic needs, and
social support
• Yet, cash is important but not sufficient to address all barriers to safe and
productive transitions to adulthood
• Addressing early marriage and pregnancy, improving health, and
providing livelihood opportunities requires more
• Powerful synergies can be created when linking adolescents in PSSN
households to other services and interventions
• Hence, TASAF and partners developed the Cash Plus model and agreed to
have it accompanied by a rigorous impact evaluation
Cash Plus rationale

20. Target
population: Male
& female
adolescents aged
14-19 years (1,500
youth)
Location: 4 districts in
Tanzania’s Southern
Highlands region (65
villages)
Partners: TASAF,
Tanzania AIDS
Commission
(TACAIDS), Ministry of
Health UNICEF
Program components:
The Cash: PSSN households receiving bi-monthly transfer
The Plus: Adolescents in PSSN households receiving
1. Livelihoods and life skills training (12 weeks)
2. Mentoring, referrals and a productive grant (9 months)
3. Linkages to adolescent friendly SRH, HIV services
Cash Plus – The Intervention

21. Evaluation design
• Cash Plus is accompanied by a rigorous impact evaluation
• The evaluation has a treatment (PSSN cash transfer and
Cash Plus for adolescents) and a control group (PSSN cash
transfer only)
• Measurements done at baseline (mid-2017), mid-line (mid-
2018), and end-line (mid-2019)
• After baseline, 65 participating and 65 control villages were
selected
• In total, 2,458 adolescents participate in the survey (spread
over treatment and control group)
• The evaluation also includes health facility and community
survey instruments

22. Cash Plus midline survey (mid-2018)
• Conducted after 12-week training program for
adolescents
• Can expect changes in:
– Knowledge (business plans, where to seek HIV/SRH
services)
– Attitudes (gender equitable attitudes, etc.)
– Aspirations (future schooling, employment)
• Most likely too soon to see
– Changes in behavior (livelihoods, HIV, SRH, transitions
to adulthood, violence)
– Substantive increases in economic activities

23. Summary of midline findings
Domain
Total number of outcomes
/indicators
Number of statistically significant
impacts
Education 9 1
Economic activities
(participation, hours)
17 3
Aspirations (educational,
occupational)
10 0
Attitudes (quality of life, self-
esteem, social support, locus
of control)
5 0
Attitudes on gender 5 1
Contraceptive knowledge 17 3
HIV knowledge 4 1
HIV risk (perceived, tested) 5
SRH visits and reasons for visit 8 1
Total 63 10

24. Intervention increased economic activities
Figure 8.2. Youth participation in any economic activities, by interview wave
and treatment status.

25. Economic activities
Qualitative findings elaborate the difference in those who conducted
a business before and after livelihood training.
Me, before I started training I was cooking buns, but after I
started training we were taught simple business plan, I started
selling soap, salt and juice. Female, 14 years, Rungwe
Participants who reported having started businesses prior to the
training cited financial difficulties at home as the main reason for their
interest in business:
I mean, you look at how the system of life goes at home, and a
person when you reach 16 or 17 years, you must know how life
goes. You will be surprised you need money and then you ask from
Mama and Mama says she doesn’t have, that’s why you have to
evaluate and act. Female, 15 years, Rungwe

26. Protective effects: Youth school
dropout between baseline and midline
Proportion who dropped out of school by midline, by gender and treatment

27. Intervention increased gender-equitable attitudes,
particularly among males
GEM Scale, by gender, treatment and time

28. Conclusion
• Adolescent Cash Plus intervention is:
– Addressing multiple vulnerabilities of adolescents in
Tanzania
– Running on a government platform
– Providing evidence on a pilot within extremely poor,
marginalized youth
• After 12 weeks of training, positive impacts on
knowledge and attitudes:
– Participation in economic activities
– More gender equitable attitudes
– More knowledge of modern contraceptives
– Increased knowledge of HIV prevention
• Changes in behavior take more time, and we will
measure at end-line (June – July 2019)