This end of project evaluation assessed Tearfund Ireland’s SHG project in Ethiopia against OECD-DAC evaluation criteria. The project ranked highly on all five criteria: it holistically empowered the poorest members of the community; improved nutrition, health, education, household income and assets; and avoided high interest rates. SHGs were highly efficient, with major changes occurring at a low cost.
Read MoreBrody et al. (2015) explored the impact of SHGs on individual-level empowerment for women in low-and middle-income countries (Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Ethiopia, South Africa and Haiti), using evidence from 23 rigorous quantitative impact evaluations. They also delved into 11 qualitative evaluations on women’s opinions on participation and benefits of SHG membership. Their analysis pointed to positive effects on economic, political and social empowerment.
Read MoreIn a matched comparison study in Gujarat and Karnataka, Saha, Kermode and Annear (2015) looked at the effect on maternal and child health of combining a health program with an SHG program. They found that women in SHGs were more likely to deliver their babies in an institution, to feed colostrum to their newborns and to have a toilet at home. There was however no statistically significant reduction in diarrhea among children in the intervention community nor was there a reduction in spending on treatments.
Read MoreSanyal et al. (2015) qualitatively evaluated four villages participating in the JEEViKA program in Bihar, India to answer the question: how do large-scale development interventions induce cultural change? A key component of JEEViKA is the formation of SHGs and it was found that this intervention successfully challenged gender norms in a relatively short period of time.
Read MoreCasini et al. (2015) examined the social behavior of PRADAN’s SHGs and how it influenced the governance of rural Indian communities. As women join SHGs they tend to participate more frequently in collective actions, usually after about three years of weekly meetings. In Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts in Odisha, these collective actions did have a significant impact on local government officials and the issues they focused on.
Read MoreKhanna et al. (2015) conducted this project evaluation to determine the impact of the Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation (Pudhu Vaazhvu) Project on women’s empowerment, political participation and household wellbeing. Significant and positive impacts were made on all targeted outcomes during the first phase of the project, which spanned 2005 to 2011.
Read MoreJEEViKA is a rural poverty reduction program in Bihar, India, and this study looked at the effects it had on promoting socio-economic inclusion for rural impoverished households. The study found that JEEViKA resulted in higher levels of women’s empowerment, measured through increased mobility, decision-making and potential for collective action.
Read MoreIn a two-year RCT, Miller et al. (2014) evaluated the effects of Heifer Nepal’s SHGs on child health and nutrition in six communities. They found that Heifer’s programming resulted in greater incremental improvement on height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) z-scores for children under five years of age in the intervention group.
Read MoreNewransky, Kayser and Lombe (2014) surveyed 64 women in Tamil Nadu who were either widowed or whose husbands had left to see if participation in an SHG had increased their self-efficacy. They found that the organization’s approach could play an important role in increasing members’ self-efficacy, particularly through frequent visits by facilitators and by providing regional trainings where women could master new behaviors.
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