GRASSP: United Republic of Tanzania

Highlights

“Ujana Salama” (‘Safe Youth’ in Swahili) is a cash-plus programme targeting adolescents in households receiving cash transfers under the United Republic of Tanzania’s Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN) programme. Implemented by the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), with the technical assistance of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) and UNICEF Tanzania, the ‘plus’ intervention for adolescents includes three main components: in-person training focused on livelihoods and sexual and reproductive health; mentoring on livelihood options and life concerns; productive grants for schooling, vocational training, or business plan.

The impact evaluation examines the differential impacts of the integrated programme (PSSN cash transfers plus intervention targeting adolescents) compared to the impacts of PSSN cash only. Reports and briefs are available for the baseline (2017), Round 2 (2018), Round 3 (2019) and Round 4 (2021) surveys.

Round 2 was conducted immediately after completion of the in-person adolescent training. Round 3 followed, soon after completion of the whole intervention (including mentoring and grants). The Round 4 survey was conducted 18–20 months after the end of programme implementation, as part of the broader Gender-Responsive Age-Sensitive Social Protection (GRASSP) research programme (2018–2024), led by UNICEF Innocenti and funded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Round 4 findings show that most of the post-programme impacts were gendered. This includes sustained increases in economic activities by female youth, sustained increases in healthcare seeking by male youth and reductions in experience of sexual violence among female youth. Implementation of the ‘plus’ components such as training and mentoring was gender responsive. However, conservative gender norms were influential as they negatively influenced programme impacts on contraception.

The Round 4 brief (available in English and Swahili) provides a summary of findings across all survey rounds.