Executive Summary
This research examines the impact of the Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (MPCA) programme funded by the World Food Programme (WFP) and implemented by World Vision Lebanon (WVL) in the Bekaa region on child labour (CL) and child protection among Syrian refugees’ children in Lebanon.
As a result of the Syrian refugee crisis, 76 per cent of displaced Syrians in Lebanon currently live below the poverty line (LCRP, 2018) and CL is on the rise among the refugee population as a consequence of using children to help sustain the household’s (HH) livelihoods and support its income (UNHCR, 2018). MPCA allows HHs to be flexible in deciding their spending needs. It can have positive results for children through its impacts on nutrition, health and education. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the role of cash-based programme (CBP) interventions by researching the evidence on the link between MPCA and four child-related outcomes: 1) enrolment in school; 2) participation in household chores, 3) engagement in CL, and finally 4) exposure to protection risk in the workplace.
The study was based on a quasi-experimental design with one-time measurement where results from 197 HHs with children receiving MPCA for at least three months (intervention group) were compared with results from 163 HHs with children receiving only food assistance for the same period (control group). The survey included customised tools for each targeted children age group. The impact of the MPCA was measured using a variety of variables to assess child education, CL, participation in HH chores and protection risks. Descriptive, correlational and predictive analyses were used to analyse the collected data.
Descriptive analysis has shown that 51.1 per cent of surveyed Syrian refugee children are not enrolled in school, 90 per cent of them participate in HH chores, 27.2 per cent are engaged in CL and 58.6 per cent of working children do not feel safe in the workplace.
Correlational analysis indicates that there is no difference between the intervention group and the control group for three of the research outcomes: school enrolment, participation in HH chores and CL. These similarities stem from the high economic vulnerability of the intervention group where the additional cash assistance is used mainly to meet the basic needs, and it is not enough to influence other childrenrelated outcomes (such as school enrolment, HH chores, and CL). With regards to child protection in the workplace, results have shown that working children in the intervention group are more likely to feel safe in the workplace compared to working children in the control group. They might be engaging in light, intermittent and basic forms of CL due to the fact that their families have the added advantage of the MPCA to support the HH income, and they can be selective regarding the type of work their children engage in.
The predictive model suggested that in HHs assisted with cash, employment and literacy of caregivers are factors contributing to education and CL. Illiteracy among Syrian refugee mothers increases the odds of CL among their children. Cash beneficiaries with a working father figure are more likely to count on work and MPCA as their main source of income to meet their basic survival needs and can afford additional costs related to children’s education like tuition, transportation and school supplies