Economic resilience requires future-oriented decision-making around income generation and protection in case of shocks. However, poverty is highly correlated with poor mental health, limiting forward-looking decision-making, thus perpetuating poverty.

Social protection programs are primarily focused on influencing household behavior in the short term, increasing consumption to reduce poverty and food insecurity, and promoting investments in human capital. A large body of evidence across numerous settings shows that cash and food transfer programs are highly effective in doing so.