Assessing the Effectiveness of Emergency Cash Transfers in Enhancing Household Resilience to Climate-Induced Drought: A Case Study of Samfya District in Luapula Province, Zambia

Background: Climate-induced drought has increasingly emerged as one of the most severe threats to rural livelihoods and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among populations dependent on rain-fed agriculture and climate-sensitive livelihoods. In Zambia, the 2023/2024 El Niño-induced drought significantly disrupted livelihoods and food systems across Zambia, prompting the Government of Zambia, in collaboration with cooperating partners, to implement the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) programme as a shock-responsive social protection intervention. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of the 2024 Emergency Cash Transfer programme in strengthening household resilience to climate-induced drought in Samfya District, Luapula Province. Specifically, the study examined household utilisation of ECT funds, assessed the programme’s contribution to food security and productive asset protection, analysed its influence on household coping strategies, and evaluated operational strengths and implementation challenges. Methods: Guided by Social Protection Theory, the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, and Resilience Theory, the study employed a case study research design, informed by the concurrent mixed-method approach. A multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to select 151 beneficiary households while purposive sampling was used to select participants for FGDs and key informant with officials from the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services, payment service providers, traditional leaders and members of Community Welfare Assistance Committees for the qualitative component. Quantitative data were collected through household surveys using interviewer-administered structured questionnaires while the qualitative data were collected through key informant interviews, and Focus Group Discussions. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS through descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Findings: The findings revealed that 94.6% of beneficiary households primarily utilised the transfers for food purchases, particularly maize meal and groceries, while 52.3% allocated part of the funds toward school fees, farming inputs, fishing equipment, and debt repayment. The programme contributed positively to household food security, with 65.6% of households attaining minimum dietary diversity during the drought period. However, nutritional vulnerability remained evident due to low consumption of protein-rich foods. Despite programme support, 39.1% of households reported selling productive assets, including land, fishing equipment, and livestock, indicating that the transfer value was insufficient to fully prevent livelihood erosion. The study further established that the programme reduced harmful coping strategies such as meal skipping, excessive borrowing, and school absenteeism. Several participants reported improved household welfare and reduced psychological stress following receipt of transfers. Nevertheless, many households remained vulnerable after programme completion, demonstrating the limitations of short-term emergency assistance in contexts characterised by chronic poverty. Operationally, 83.4% of beneficiaries reported receiving payments without major difficulties, although challenges related to targeting inaccuracies, political interference, delayed payments, and limited accessibility for remote fishing communities were identified. Conclusion: The study concludes that the Emergency Cash Transfer programme moderately strengthened household resilience by improving food access, stabilising consumption, and reducing negative coping behaviours during the drought. However, the programme’s effectiveness was constrained by inadequate transfer values and implementation weaknesses. The study recommends increasing transfer amounts, introducing vulnerability-based scaling systems, strengthening targeting transparency, improving payment predictability, and integrating emergency transfers with long-term livelihood recovery and social protection programmes