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The impact of pensions on the lives of older people and grandchildren in the KwaWazee project in Tanzania's Kagera region.

Authors: Hofmann,S.; Heslop,M.; Clacherty,G.; Kessy,F.
Produced by: HelpAge International (2008)

Cash transfers have become an increasingly popular way of providing social protection in low-income African countries. This study aims to find out more about the impact of social pensions for older people and the combination with child benefits in older people headed households, and what can be learnt from the experiences with this approach in the Kwa Wazee project in Tanzania. This is a joint publication from HelpAge International, Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative (REPSSI), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and World Vision International.

The KwaWazee pensions fund was started at the end of 2003 in rural Kagera in northwestern Tanzania, an area severely affected by the consequences of HIV and AIDS. By 2007 nearly 600 older people received a monthly pension of Tsh. 6,000 (an equivalent of US$ 5 in April 2008) and Tsh. 3'000 per child, if they are main carers.

This study provides:
• an assessment of the impact of pensions and child benefits on older people and of the cost-effectiveness and implementation of the project
• an assessment of the impact of pensions and child benefits on grandchildren
• a summary of national and regional policies for social protection aimed at older people in Tanzania and an exploration of the lessons learnt from the KwaWazee pensions fund
For the study, both quantitative and qualitative tools were used. A special focus was laid on the rarely explored area of psychosocial wellbeing of older people and its inclusion of children in an impact assessment of cash transfers through activity-based workshops is, the authors argue, probably unprecedented.

The review shows that:
• investment in social protection and social transfers in particular are an effective way of targeting the most marginalised and the poorest men and women in developing countries
• universal non-contributory pensions help to deliver development outcomes across generations;
• social pensions have direct benefits across families and communities, thus tackling the intergenerational nature of poverty; and
• social pensions are an important response to HIV and AIDS and an effective strategy of providing support to older carers and reaching vulnerable children
The authors conclude that although the impact of the KwaWazee Programme as perceived by the beneficiaries is high, the sustainability of the programme is a challenge. This is because the pension scheme operates as a small localised programme and it has not been integrated into the district plans. As learned from the experiences from other countries in the region, scaling up and sustainability of such programmes is possible with government commitment. Also, forging linkages with the district council is imperative when implementing such programmes, so that such future programmes activities can be integrated into the council plans and implemented using council funds.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=41059&em=101208&sub=pov