Longitudinal Evaluation of the Influence of WORTH Yetu on Household Economic Status Based on the Count of Non-asset Resources for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children’s Well-being in Tanzania

Abstract

This research uniquely focused on non-assets such as living conditions and children’s quality of life as important indicators of household socioeconomic status, especially in low-income settings where acquiring assets may be challenging. The study assessed the impact of an economic empowerment programme, WORTH Yetu, on economic well-being of households caring for orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Tanzania. Based on longitudinal data from the USAID Kizazi Kipya project, we counted the available non-assets at the household level for OVC well-being, including shelter conditions, clothing quality, school and medical support, and savings within households. The study included 249,655 households (70% with female caregivers) at baseline, with 247,638 of them reached at the follow-up after an average of 1.6 years. Results showed that the mean number of non-assets increased from 0.86 at baseline to 1.04 at the follow-up. Notably, households that participated in the WORTH Yetu programme increased their mean count of non-assets to 1.37 while it was 1.00 among non-participants. In the multilevel mixed-effects Poisson regression model, WORTH Yetu participants were 48% more likely to experience an increase in non-assets at the follow-up compared to non-participants (adjusted incidence-rate ratio (aIRR) = 1.48 [1.46, 1.49]), with notable differences between households with female (aIRR = 1.45 [1.43, 1.47]) and male caregivers (aIRR = 1.53 [1.50, 1.57]). Overall, the WORTH Yetu programme significantly improved the count of non-assets for OVC well-being, but the observed differences in the non-assets based on the caregiver gender suggest varied outcomes for OVC, highlighting the necessity for further research.