Objectives The Malawian Social Cash Transfer Scheme (SCT) is a social protection programme for ultra poor and labour-constrained households, including people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). We aimed to gain insight into respondents’ circumstances prior to becoming transfer beneficiaries and to examine how PLWHA used transfers to support themselves and their families.
Methods We conducted 24 semi-structured qualitative interviews with PLWHA who were also SCT beneficiaries and living in villages where the scheme was operational in 2008.
Results Respondents were destitute and lacked food and basic necessities prior to the transfer. As cash recipients, the majority of respondents reported positive impacts on health, food security and economic well-being as well as an improved ability to care for their families.
Conclusion Important unanswered programmatic questions persist, such as ‘What is the appropriate transfer level?’ And ‘Should recipients graduate from the scheme?’ Moreover, the scheme’s long-term sustainability is still unclear. Nevertheless, this analysis presents evidence describing how PLWHA used cash transfers to improve their situation and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on families.