Cash transfers to adolescents moderately reduce adolescent anemia: study

ISLAMABAD: A study conducted by ‘Nutrition International’ in collaboration with Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has showed that cash transfers to adolescent moderately reduce anemia for adolescents in the country

The pilot project as well as its evaluation was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation reached over 100,000 adolescent girls with weekly iron and folic acid supplementation while enhancing their knowledge about nutrition and anaemia.

According to the findings of the project titled ‘Adolescent Nutrition Conditional Cash Transfer’, released here on Saturday aimed at addressing anaemia among adolescent girls aged 15-19 and improving nutrition carried out during 2023-25 also included nutrition education for girls and their mothers, as well as quarterly conditional cash transfers (CCT) to mothers. Funding for both the pilot and its evaluation was provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The pilot project, implemented by BISP in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) across six districts, achieved high coverage of supplements and demonstrated potential for reducing mild to moderate anaemia. After participating in nutrition education sessions, adolescent girls showed increased knowledge and were more likely to recognized signs and symptoms of anaemia and could name iron-rich foods.

To evaluate the impact of this pilot, Nutrition International partnered with the Aga Khan University, PHC Global, and Allama Iqbal Open University. The effectiveness evaluation was guided by a Technical Working Group, comprising representatives from BISP, WFP, and UNICEF. A dissemination event organized by Nutrition International in collaboration with BISP, local research partners shared the project’s successes, lessons learned, and the feasibility of scaling the project nationally, while also highlighting its contribution to improved adolescent nutrition and anaemia reduction.

Adolescence is a critical stage of the human life cycle, both physically and psychosocially. According to the National Nutrition Survey 2018, more than half (54.7 percent) of adolescent girls are anaemic – which poses in the form of short-term effects such as illness, fatigue, lethargy, and poor concentration, and long-term impacts including impaired cognitive development and reduced work capacity. These consequences ultimately undermine both academic achievement and human capital development. This project was designed specifically to address the anaemia burden by building on a successful social safety program. Evaluation findings show that adolescent girls and their families reported improved health, greater awareness of nutrition and health, and stronger trust in delivery service.

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