title: Assessing the impact of microfinance programming on children: an evaluation from post-tsunami Aceh.
abstract: This paper presents an evaluation of the long-term impact of microfinance programmes on Acehnese children during the post-tsunami recovery. The study, conducted from June to August 2010, examined the impact of microfinance programming six years after the tsunami. The sample consisted of 185 microfinance participants, with a comparison group of 192 individuals who did not participate in microfinance programmes. All respondents were parents, interviewed through a structured survey. The study used four child protection indicators-diet, health, childcare and education-in contrast to traditional repayment rate indicators. The primary results were insignificant with respect to all four child protection indicators, suggesting that, with respect to these indicators, there was no long-term difference between the impact of microfinance on beneficiaries' children and non-beneficiaries' children. These findings signify a need for microfinance actors to move beyond traditional indicators of economic success to evaluate the social changes microfinance programmes are presumed to effect.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Program on Forced Migration and Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, United States.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Nafessa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kassim
authors.forename: Thalia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sparling
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buscher
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boothby
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D005378:Financial Support; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D057192:Tsunamis
keywords: child protection; indicators; microfinance; tsunami