Got milk? The impact of Heifer International’s livestock donation programs in Rwanda on nutritional outcomes

Abstract

International animal donation programs have become an increasingly popular way for people living in developed countries to transfer resources to families living in developing countries. We evaluate the impact of Heifer International's dairy cow and meat goat donation programs in Rwanda. We find that the program substantially increases dairy and meat consumption among Rwandan households who were given a dairy cow or a meat goat, respectively. We also find marginally statistically significant reductions in weight-for-height z-scores and weight-forage z-scores of about 0.4 standard deviations among children aged 0-5 years in households that were recipients of meat goats, and reductions in heightfor-age z-scores of about 0.5 standard deviations among children in households that received dairy cows. Our results suggest that increasing livestock ownership in developing countries may significantly increase consumption of nutrient dense animal-source foods and improve nutrition outcomes.

Nonnative Cattle Ownership, Diet, and Child Height-for-Age: Evidence from the 2011 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey

“…25,38,39 In particular, household dairy cow ownership has been reported as a positive predictor for child HAZ in coastal and rural areas of Kenya, 4,40 rural Rwanda, 41 and rural Uganda, 24 although the relationship held true in HAZ = height-for-age z score. Characteristics reported are survey-corrected %, survey-corrected mean (standard error), or survey-corrected median (25th-75th percentile).…”

Cattle as technological interventions: The gender effects of water demand in dairy production in Uganda

“…In livestock asset transfer programs, 1 livestock are seen as playing an important role in providing a "pathway out of poverty and malnutrition" (Rawlins et al 2014, p. 203;also Alary et al 2011;Jodlowski et al 2016), and livestock are, therefore, commonly given to the poor as part of asset-based poverty alleviation development programs (Krishna et al 2012;Rawlins et al 2014;Kim and Sumberg 2015). Although several studies have focused on the impact of animal ownership on various animal health and nutritional outcomes, only recently have studies begun to focus on the impact of livestock donations, or livestock asset transfer programs, and their impact on human nutrition and health (Rawlins et al 2014;Jodlowski et al 2016).…”

“…Although several studies have focused on the impact of animal ownership on various animal health and nutritional outcomes, only recently have studies begun to focus on the impact of livestock donations, or livestock asset transfer programs, and their impact on human nutrition and health (Rawlins et al 2014;Jodlowski et al 2016). In both types of studies (i.e., animal ownership and livestock donations), the findings generally support the view that there is a positive relationship between animal ownership and household and child nutrition.…”

“…As asset transfer programs have become more popular among development agencies, studies have begun to assess their utility for enhancing household food security and economic well-being (Rawlins et al 2014;Jodlowski et al 2016). However, few studies have examined the gendered dimensions of asset transfer programs.…”

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“…Reviews by Berti, Krasevec and Fitzgerald (2004), Leroy and Frongillo (2007), Girard et al (2012) and Masset et al (2012) show limited but growing evidence for a positive relationship between agricultural strategies, and nutrition and health. Regarding the potential for livestock interventions, recent reviews have improved the evidence base (Rawlins et al 2014;Hoddinott, Heady and Dereje 2015).…”