The evidence on Self Help Groups in Bangladesh, Nigeria and Uganda shows how and where local and national organizations can fit in to best support and complement the needs of community driven initiatives.
Read Morede Hoop et al. (2020) outline the implications of COVID-19 on women’s groups in India, Nigeria and Uganda and how the groups may help mitigate the effects of the pandemic for their communities. Groups were found to be affected by social distancing and the economic repercussions of the lockdowns. However, they can strengthen their member’s resilience to shocks and serve as crucial partners in community response.
Read MoreWalia et al. (2020) measured whether delivering health messages through SHGs in Bihar impacted antenatal care (ANC) behaviors. They surveyed 1,204 SHG members: 597 were from SHGs that received maternal and child health messaging in at least one weekly group meeting per month and 607 were from SHGs that were not exposed to the health intervention. They found that sharing health messages in microfinance-based SHGs is associated with significant increase in ANC practice.
Read MoreHazra et al. (2020)’s quasi experimental study in Uttar Pradesh, India assessed the effects of health behavior change interventions on maternal and newborn health (MNH) practices when delivered through women’s SHGs. The study found that providing the interventions through SHGs not only helped improve maternal and newborn practices, but also reduced disparities between most- and least marginalized populations for such behaviors.
Read MoreHow are the quality and accessibility of local public goods influenced by grassroots efforts such as SHGs? Desai et al. (2014) explored this question in Rajasthan, India looking at water access and found that women in villages with SHGs were more informed than those in control villages about how to address problems of water supply and deficiency. They were also more likely to contact local authorities regarding their grievances with respect to water service and also reported greater improvements in water access, quality and infrastructure compared to their counterparts in control villages.
Read MoreRaghunathan et al. (2019) examined PRADAN’s SHG program in five states across India to see whether the groups are an effective platform for improving access to information, women’s empowerment in agriculture, agricultural practices, and production diversity. They found that SHG participation does increase women’s access to information and their participation in some agricultural decisions, but has limited impact on agricultural practices or outcomes, possibly due to financial constraints, social norms, and women’s domestic responsibilities.
Read MoreSaggurti et al. (2019) assessed the effect of a newborn care intervention through SHGs on improving new-born healthcare practices in rural Bihar, India. The quasi experimental study deemed that sharing messages on appropriate new-born practices through SHGs did in fact improve new-born care practices, evident within one year of the intervention.
Read MoreUsing cross-sectional data from 2015, Kumar et al. (2019) looked into the potential for women’s SHGs to improve access to and use of public entitlement schemes in India. They found that while SHGs do not increase awareness of these schemes, SHG members are significantly more likely to make use of them. SHG members were also found to be more politically active than non-members.
Read MoreIn an evidence review that studied 46 high quality evaluations of interventions delivered through SHGs in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, Gugerty et al. (2019) found that though the impacts of SHG-based interventions were generally positive, the evidence base was limited and did not generally test whether alternative delivery mechanisms might be more effective.
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