Beyond cash transfers to healthier and happy futures

In Suwali Village in Nsanje district, Nina Luciano skillfully balances the needs of her six-month-old twins. While one craves a quiet lullaby, the other hungrily demands her full attention.

Nina feeds them confidently in public, knowing she has the health and resources to provide for both, a reality that seemed impossible just a few months ago.

“I wouldn’t have successfully delivered these babies if I hadn't been screened for malnutrition and linked to a health facility,” the 27-year-old mother explains.

Nina lives in an ultra-poor and vulnerable household that receives monthly cash support from the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP). She is one of more than 2,400 people in Nsanje benefiting from the Nutrition Sensitive Social Protection (NSSP) programme, locally known as ‘Mtukula Pakhomo Oonjezera’.

Launched in April 2025 the initiative provides cash and nutritional support to pregnant women and children aged six to 23 months living in targeted households as part of the lean season response.

When Nina was four months pregnant, she didn't know she was expecting twins. Her weight was dangerously low, putting her life and her pregnancy at risk. She was screened at a social cash transfer case management community meeting and immediately enrolled in a malnutrition treatment plan.

A month later, her recovery took a remarkable turn. She was enrolled in the supplementary social cash transfer support initiative. Through the initiative, she began receiving vital nutrition services through care groups and savings and loan groups. Alongside this support came a monthly cash top‑up of K37,500 (about US$21), designed to strengthen her household’s ability to access diverse and nutritious foods.

Nsanje District Principal Nutrition Officer Nozza Mpesi says beneficiaries are also provided with start‑up vegetable and fruit seeds to support household nutrition. She adds that in November 2025, each household was given 10 chickens under a pass‑on arrangement, a community-based model where beneficiaries receive chickens and then pass a portion of the chickens to other households after three months when the chickens are expected to have multiplied.

This was her turning point. Beyond the financial aid, Nina has been receiving hands on guidance from a local community promoter, Chrissy Mateyu and peers at Tiyanjane care group. “This programme was the beginning of a continuous education,” she says.

Promoter for Tiyanjane care group, where Nina is a member, Chrissy Mateyu says her role is to monitor progress, enlighten women on nutritious food, food preparation, childcare practices, sanitation and hygiene.

“It’s also my duty to ensure the group members set up vegetable gardens to achieve their nutrition goals. I also provide advice on financial management for the money they receive from government so that they should be able to sustain themselves after the programme is completed,” she confidently elaborates.

Mateyu also conducts malnutrition screening within the community and refers detected cases to medical care, “this program has improved nutrition among children and pregnant women. Nina is one of the positive cases I’m so proud of.”

Today, Nina and her peers maintain their own vegetable gardens, keep several egg-laying chickens and maintains a hygienic home, proof that when cash transfers are paired with health and nutrition coaching, the results are lifesaving.

“I invested the money received into a fish business whose profits I then reinvest into a village bank. Even though I have slowed down because I have to take care of the twins, I’m hopeful that I will remain well off beyond this program,” she believes.

The positive impact is confirmed by Mpesa: “Now that they have seen the benefits of having well-nourished children and households, the beneficiaries have been motivated. Some of them are calling us to go and see the progress of their vegetable gardens,”

UNICEF Social Protection Specialist George Juwawo said: “Although these households are already supported through the social assistance programme, providing nutrition top‑ups is essential. These additional linkages ensure that children have improved nutrition outcomes during the lean season, when food insecurity peaks and the risks to child health are highest.”

For Nina, the programme has provided more than a monthly payment; it has given her the tools to build a self-sufficient life and ensure that she can feed her children a nutritious diet. By combining financial aid with hands-on coaching and resources like seeds and livestock, the initiative ensures that families can thrive long after the official support ends.

The work is supported by UNICEF with financial support from the German Development Bank, KFW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), as part of the multi-sectoral nutrition programme to reduce stunting in Malawi.