Outcome Analysis: Cash Transfer Programming Response to the Ebola Crisis in Sierra Leone and Liberia

The United States Agency for International Development / Food for Peace (USAID / FFP) supported Cash Transfer Programming (CTP) response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and Liberia greatly contributed to the recovery of affected communities and households. The CTP response provided a safety net to assist targeted communities to deal with transient food insecurity and went beyond achieving this objective by also contributing to the recovery of livelihoods eroded by the Ebola crisis.

Over a period of six to approximately 31 months, and in a highly challenging context of poor road and telecommunications networks, seven USAID / FFP implementing partners in Sierra Leone and Liberia came together with Government focal points, service providers and community leaders to successfully provide monthly or quarterly cash payments to over 120,000 households.

This analytical document takes a consolidated and comprehensive look at the food security and livelihood outcomes of the CTP Ebola response, especially from the perspectives of the communities that benefitted from the cash transfers. It seeks to examine the short and medium term impacts of mainly unrestricted and unconditional cash transfers and complementary activities on household food security, livelihoods, and resilience, and identifies critical lessons to inform future programming decisions in similar contexts.