USAID/FFP Cash Assistance Project Endline Survey Report, Yobe State, Nigeria, January 2016

The project aimed to improve household food security and nutrition in the target areas of Damaturu, Potiskum, and Fune Local Government Areas (LGAs). The project duration was from April to December 2015, with a baseline survey conducted in January 2015 and an endline survey conducted in January 2016. The objectives of the endline survey were to establish the current household dietary diversity score, coping mechanisms, and food consumption score in comparison to the baseline results. The survey also aimed to assess the impact of the cash assistance project on household food security and nutrition. A total of 3000 households benefited from the cash transfer project, with 600 households selected for the endline survey using a stratified random sampling procedure. The survey was conducted in 634 households, with 12 enumerators engaged for data collection training. The data collection process took five days to complete. The results of the endline survey showed that the majority of household heads were male, with 83% of households headed by males and 17% by females. The average age of household heads ranged from 30 to 60 years, with 74% of households falling within this age group. The main income sources for households were casual labor, petty trade, and sale of crops, with petty trade being the major source of income during the endline survey. The households' coping strategy index was calculated using a severity score, with the average score decreasing from 22.8 during the baseline to 7.6 during the endline. This indicates a reduction in coping strategies, with households relying less on less severe coping strategies. Potiskum LGA showed the highest score, mainly due to the indication of reducing adults' food intake for children. The household food consumption score showed an increase in the consumption of a more varied diet, with 98% of households having lower scores than the baseline average reduced coping strategy score. The consumption of animal proteins improved significantly, with 94.3% of households reporting an 'acceptable diet' level. The results of the endline survey indicate that the cash assistance project had a positive impact on household food security and nutrition in the target areas. The project's interventions, including cash transfers and nutrition education, contributed to the improvement in household dietary diversity, food consumption, and coping strategies. The project's success can be attributed to the effective implementation of the cash assistance program, which provided households with the necessary resources to improve their food security and nutrition.