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The Role of Unpaid Childcare on Women's Economic Participation in Kenya

Photo: Parents with their child in rural East Africa. © Lucian Coman / Shutterstock

IPA Kenya has been informing conversations around unpaid care, which disproportionately affects women's participation in the labor force. This comes at a time when Kenya is introducing two new policies: 1) the Women Economic Empowerment policy to accelerate inclusive development and sustainable transformation, and 2) the National Care policy to alleviate the effects of unpaid care work on gender equality, economic empowerment, and social growth. IPA is proactively engaging with actors at national and sub-national levels with insights from the Women’s Work, Entrepreneurship, and Skilling Initiative, the Intimate Partner Violence Initiative, and an evidence review on the multigenerational approach to childcare.

An Innovative Approach to Reduce Malnutrition and Extreme Poverty in Burkina Faso

Photo: A child's upper arm being measured as part of a nutrition project. © 2015 Thomas Chupein

Researchers: Andrew Dillon and Adrien Bouguen

Malnutrition can have significant long-lasting negative effects on a child’s cognitive and motor development, and it remains a persistent challenge for families in extreme poverty. In Burkina Faso, where many young children are malnourished, researchers evaluated the impacts of a program consisting of a cash transfer, an asset transfer, and a nutrition-focused component for families with unborn or young children. After two years, the full program reduced extreme poverty by 29 percent, reduced child acute and chronic malnutrition by 33 percent, and improved the cognitive and motor skills of children born during the program. This innovative approach holds promise for further improving families’ livelihoods beyond the traditional graduation model.

Intergenerational Impacts of Parental Deworming in Kenya

A new working paper from Kenya examines the effects of COVID-19 school closures on the development and cognitive function of children aged 3-8, whose parents received deworming treatment in childhood. Results showed that parents with greater exposure to childhood deworming have children who experience a range of improved health outcomes. Older children also had greater cognitive scores, but only before the school closures, which led to significant learning losses.

Incorporating a Two-Generation Approach into a Refugee Parenting Program in Tanzania

IPA partnered with the IRC to adapt, implement, and study a parenting program in refugee and host communities in Tanzania in order to incorporate a 'two-generation' approach—whereby the program developed a stronger focus on the needs and perspectives of parents themselves, in addition to those of their young children. The study shows that the four adaptations to the program were positively received, but one faced significant challenges in implementation.

The Impact of Inter-Religious Soccer Leagues on Social Cohesion in Post-ISIS Iraq

A study evaluated the impact of mixed Christian-Muslim soccer teams on social cohesion and interactions between these groups in an ISIS-affected area of Iraq. Results indicate that Christians who played on mixed teams demonstrated a higher likelihood of engaging with Muslim teammates after the league ended.

Combining Mangrove Conservation with Sports for Youth in the Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic, researchers are measuring whether a youth conservation awareness program administered to baseball and volleyball teams encourages efforts toward the conservation of coastal mangroves.