Blogs

I still remember my early days as a fresh PhD economist at the Inter-American Development Bank. My job was to help design health and social programs across Latin America. I arrived eager, idealistic, and armed with economic theory. I quickly noticed something: everyone—government officials, colleagues, even myself—had strong views about what the “right” structure of a program should be. If you wanted to reduce the incidence of child malnutrition, you gave out food. If you wanted more women to work, you subsidized childcare.

Most impact evaluations capture short-term (1-2 year) results, but development interventions often aim to shape outcomes over entire lifetimes or even future generations. For example, designers of a program to support childhood health, nutrition, or education might hope that improving immediate outcomes for children will translate into improved labor market outcomes and incomes for those people as adults. There may be strong theoretical reasons to expect these long-term effects, but empirical evidence from long-term impact evaluations 5, 10, or even 20 years later is scarce.

Staying up-to-date with the latest research on food systems and nutrition is more important than ever to work towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2025 SDG report calls for action on food systems as one of six critical areas. My colleagues recently argued that a systems approach is needed to achieve the 2nd SDG, ending hunger.

Humanitarian aid is often judged by what it fixes in the moment. But a critical question often goes unanswered: What will it change in the long run?

The CUA Consortium with the ADN Dignidad program in Colombia set out to answer this question. Nearly a year and a half after distributing its last cash transfer, a follow-up impact evaluation reveals that the program didn’t just ease short-term hardship, it left a lasting imprint on people’s lives.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is no stranger to turmoil. With the devastating conflict in Gaza, the displacement crises in Sudan, the crumbling economies in Lebanon and Syria, and the broader erosion of state capacity across the region, MENA continues to grapple with overlapping and deepening emergencies.