Daniel Gilligan POLICY SEMINAR Virtual Event - Micronutrients in emergencies: How can we prevent an increase in hidden hunger? Co-Organized by the Micronutrient Forum and IFPRI JUN 9, 2020 - 09:30 AM TO 10:45 AM EDT

1. Emergency Programming
with Micronutrients in Mind
Evidence on Social Safety Nets
Daniel O. Gilligan
Deputy Director, Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division
International Food Policy Research Institute
Washington, D.C. | June 9, 2020

2. Why use social safety nets to protect micronutrient
status during a health crisis?
1. Increasing incomes for
vulnerable households
improves dietary diversity
2. The infrastructure of social
assistance is often already
in place
3. Research shows that this
works
Credit: Laura Zimmerman

3. Fortified school meals reduce anemia prevalence in
Uganda IDP camps
 Prevalence of moderate
to severe anemia was
reduced:
 18 ppt for adolescent
girls age 10-13 years
(Fig A)
 12 ppt for adult women
with take-home rations
 22 ppt for children age
6-59 months
Source: Adelman, Sarah, Daniel O. Gilligan, Joseph Konde-Lule and Harold Alderman. 2019. “School Feeding Reduces Anemia Prevalence in Adolescent
Girls and Other Vulnerable Household Members in a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Uganda.” Journal of Nutrition 149(4): 659-666.

4. When do transfer modalities matter?
 Transfer modalities of food, vouchers or cash can all increase
household consumption and improve calorie intakes
 In Ecuador, vouchers increased dietary diversity more than
food transfers or cash
 In general, cash transfers often work best – they rely on
markets, are cheaper to deliver, can be sent electronically
 Regardless of modality, moving swiftly is critical when providing
relief during COVID-19
Source: Hidrobo, Melissa, John Hoddinott, Amber Peterman, Amy Margolies, and Vanessa Moreira. 2014. "Cash, food, or
vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador." Journal of Development Economics 107: 144-156.

5. What are priorities for designing social safety nets to
improve micronutrient status during the pandemic?
 Design social safety nets to be
gender-sensitive
 Include messaging on
nutrition, sanitation and health
 Use cash transfers to safely
support informal markets and
supply chains for nutritious
foods