Work

Leveraging cash transfers to mitigate energy poverty among refugees in Uganda: Distributional insights and gendered lens

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper evaluates the impact of cash transfers on the multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) of South Sudanese refugees in Uganda using a robust-doubly inverse-probability-weighted regression-adjustment (IPWRA) technique. Specifically, this paper conducts causal analyses of cash transfers' average and distributional impacts on the energy deprivation index and decomposes them using a gender lens. The results indicate that cash transfers significantly reduce energy poverty, with fundamental pronunciation among female-headed households. Also, cash assistance significantly influences interfuel choice, affirming the validity of fuel stacking theory. Moreover, the results depicted household income level, farm work, and non-farm work activities as significant mediators through which cash transfers impact energy poverty. The increasing reduction effect of cash transfers on energy poverty among the most deprived demonstrates the additional value of the distributional analysis conducted. By focusing on one of the largest refugee-hosting countries worldwide, these findings provide essential insights into the significance of cash transfers on energy access dynamics in a humanitarian context.

Source: Sustainable Futures

DOI: 10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100963

Author: Isaiah Maket

Institution: University of Embu

Language: English

Topic: Energy and Environment Impacts

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: No poverty, Reduced inequalities, Affordable and clean energy, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,340