Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan

Understanding the preferences of beneficiaries for what form of humanitarian aid they receive is critical for improving the effectiveness of such aid in conflict-affected settings that are characterized by rapidly changing markets and information asymmetries. This paper examines intrahousehold diffe...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abushama, Hala, Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw, Abay, Kibrom A., Siddig, Khalid
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179715
_version_ 1855530731900502016
author Abushama, Hala
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Abay, Kibrom A.
Siddig, Khalid
author_browse Abay, Kibrom A.
Abushama, Hala
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Siddig, Khalid
author_facet Abushama, Hala
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Abay, Kibrom A.
Siddig, Khalid
author_sort Abushama, Hala
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Understanding the preferences of beneficiaries for what form of humanitarian aid they receive is critical for improving the effectiveness of such aid in conflict-affected settings that are characterized by rapidly changing markets and information asymmetries. This paper examines intrahousehold differences in preferences for in-kind, cash, and hybrid assistance among internally displaced households in Sudan, with particular attention to gender, decision-making power, and agency differences. While cash remains the most preferred modality, about half of the respondents reported favoring in-kind or hybrid assistance options. On average, women report a 7-percentage point higher preference for in-kind transfers than men, but with some variation across states. Preferences are strongly shaped by intrahousehold decision-making—spouses, particularly women, who control decisions over the use of aid are more likely to prefer cash, while those with less agency in such decisions favor in-kind assistance. We also find suggestive evidence that limited market access and self-control constraints are associated with a higher preference for in-kind transfers. These findings highlight the importance of agency and intrahousehold dynamics in shaping aid modality preferences and offer practical insights for designing more equitable humanitarian and social protection interventions in contexts with significant population displacement.
format Artículo preliminar
id CGSpace179715
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher International Food Policy Research Institute
publisherStr International Food Policy Research Institute
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace1797152026-01-13T02:09:58Z Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan Abushama, Hala Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw Abay, Kibrom A. Siddig, Khalid capacity building intrahousehold relations humanitarian organizations aid programmes internally displaced persons gender gender-responsive approaches Understanding the preferences of beneficiaries for what form of humanitarian aid they receive is critical for improving the effectiveness of such aid in conflict-affected settings that are characterized by rapidly changing markets and information asymmetries. This paper examines intrahousehold differences in preferences for in-kind, cash, and hybrid assistance among internally displaced households in Sudan, with particular attention to gender, decision-making power, and agency differences. While cash remains the most preferred modality, about half of the respondents reported favoring in-kind or hybrid assistance options. On average, women report a 7-percentage point higher preference for in-kind transfers than men, but with some variation across states. Preferences are strongly shaped by intrahousehold decision-making—spouses, particularly women, who control decisions over the use of aid are more likely to prefer cash, while those with less agency in such decisions favor in-kind assistance. We also find suggestive evidence that limited market access and self-control constraints are associated with a higher preference for in-kind transfers. These findings highlight the importance of agency and intrahousehold dynamics in shaping aid modality preferences and offer practical insights for designing more equitable humanitarian and social protection interventions in contexts with significant population displacement. 2025-12-31 2026-01-12T21:46:13Z 2026-01-12T21:46:13Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179715 en https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179201 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/177655 https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2025.2510642 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Abushama, Hala; Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Abay, Kibrom A.; and Siddig, Khalid. 2025. Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan. Sudan SSP Working Paper 26. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179715
spellingShingle capacity building
intrahousehold relations
humanitarian organizations
aid programmes
internally displaced persons
gender
gender-responsive approaches
Abushama, Hala
Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw
Abay, Kibrom A.
Siddig, Khalid
Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan
title Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan
title_full Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan
title_fullStr Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan
title_full_unstemmed Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan
title_short Intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance—Who prefers what: Evidence from internally displaced households in Sudan
title_sort intrahousehold preferences for humanitarian assistance who prefers what evidence from internally displaced households in sudan
topic capacity building
intrahousehold relations
humanitarian organizations
aid programmes
internally displaced persons
gender
gender-responsive approaches
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/179715
work_keys_str_mv AT abushamahala intrahouseholdpreferencesforhumanitarianassistancewhopreferswhatevidencefrominternallydisplacedhouseholdsinsudan
AT nigushalefomyigzaw intrahouseholdpreferencesforhumanitarianassistancewhopreferswhatevidencefrominternallydisplacedhouseholdsinsudan
AT abaykibroma intrahouseholdpreferencesforhumanitarianassistancewhopreferswhatevidencefrominternallydisplacedhouseholdsinsudan
AT siddigkhalid intrahouseholdpreferencesforhumanitarianassistancewhopreferswhatevidencefrominternallydisplacedhouseholdsinsudan