Does the unconditional cash transfer program in South Africa provide support for women after child birth? Barriers to accessing the child support grant among women in informal work in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Background The child support grant (CSG) is the largest unconditional cash transfer program in Africa and aims to alleviate poverty and improve child health and nutrition in low-income families in South Africa. Among informal working women, the CSG is an important source of income after childbirth when informal workers are unable to work, but reports suggest that women experience delays in accessing the CSG. We explore experiences and challenges of accessing the CSG among informal workers in Durban, South Africa. Methods We undertook a longitudinal mixed-methods cohort study. Women informal workers were recruited during pregnancy and followed-up for up to one year after the baby was born. Quantitative questionnaires and semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to collect data about women’s plans for applying for the CSG, the application process, use of the CSG in the household, and household food insecurity. Interviews were conducted in IsiZulu by experienced researchers. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data used SPSS v26, and framework analysis using NVIVO v12.3 was used for qualitative analysis. Results Twenty-four informal working women were enrolled. The CSG received for older children was reported as an important and reliable source of income for mothers after childbirth. However, delays receiving the CSG for the new baby meant this support was unavailable to first-time mothers. The complex application process for the CSG required mothers to travel to various government departments to complete the required documentation, often taking the baby with them. This was costly and time-consuming for mothers who were already vulnerable, and led to delays in obtaining CSG funds. Many women experienced moderate or severe food insecurity before and after the baby was born. As a result, some mothers had to return to work earlier than planned, disrupting childcare and breastfeeding. Conclusions Cash transfer programmes can effectively support low income households and improve outcomes for mothers and children. In South Africa there is a need for innovative approaches to streamline CSG applications, so women can access the funds immediately post-delivery to fill a resource gap and provide support at a vulnerable time for mothers and their children.

It’s not the Destination it’s the Journey: Lessons From a Longitudinal ‘Mixed’ Mixed-Methods Study Among Female informal Workers in South Africa

“…As a result, the number of participants was small and the only purpose of the quantitative data was to provide context for the qualitative data. For example, we presented data about challenges and delays to obtaining a child support grant in the context of household food security measured at the same time points (Luthuli et al, 2022), photovoice data about child care choices combined with quantitative data about childcare used by mothers (Horwood et al, 2021), and experiences of infant feeding together with quantitative data about how planned and actual feeding practices changed at each time point (Luthuli et al, 2020). We acknowledge that the mixed methods approach for our study could have been strengthened if we had made clearer links between the qualitative and quantitative data, so that findings from the quantitative questionnaires could have guided the qualitative interviews.…”

Child support grant expansion and cognitive function among women in rural South Africa: Findings from a natural experiment in the HAALSI cohort

“…Therefore, the CSG benefit was of a magnitude smaller than that needed to cover the cost of the child’s minimum required daily energy intake. However, CSG income is predominantly used to buy food for the child and the household [ 52 ], and sometimes is the only source of income in the households [ 63 ]. Therefore, it is plausible that a difference of one year of CSG eligibility is likely too little in duration and financial amounts to have had any meaningful impacts on the cognitive function of the mothers.…”

Maternity protection for female non-standard workers in South Africa: the case of domestic workers

“…Women who can’t access paid maternity leave or social insurance need to rely on state social assistance (the child support grant). However, this is less than minimum incomes and many women are unable to access the child support grant soon after childbirth [ 39 ] with some only accessing this support once they have returned to work after maternity leave. Most non-standard workers earn unstable and low incomes and are therefore unable to accumulate savings for their maternity leave period.…”