Case Study
Scaling Up Kudumbashree: Collective Action for Poverty Alleviation and Women's Empowerment
Is decentralization successful in poverty alleviation?
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70 pages
This paper discusses the factors that enabled, and constrained, the scaling up of a multi-sectoral poverty alleviation program called Kudumbashree, initiated by the Government of Kerala, (GOK), India, in 1998 to eradicate poverty by 2008.
The paper presents the following information about Kudumbashree:
- In 1991, the GOK initiated the Community-Based Nutrition Program (CBNP) in Alleppey town to improve the health and nutritional status of children and women;
- CBNP facilitated collective action by forming and developing the capacity of three-tiered community development societies (CDS);
- CDS had only women as members;
- The program identified women from poor families and organized them in to neighborhood groups of 20-45 families;
- These groups had a system of internal control and regulation;
- This program was expanded in the State.
The paper identifies the following:
- Enabling features of the program:
- Decentralization and devolution of finances to the local government bodies (LGBs);
- Financial sustainability through various modalities;
- Leadership and innovation from officials;
- Partnerships with other institutions;
- Training and capacity building of LGBs.
- Constraining features of the program:
- The inclusion of all women, instead of just those below the poverty line;
- Delays in negotiations between various stakeholders.
The paper concludes by listing potential trade-offs of the program, which include:
- Shrinking focus on maternal and child health, and nutrition issues;
- Increasing signs of the CDS and LGBs becoming bureaucratic.
