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With research staff from more than 70 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Timothy Thomas

Timothy Thomas is a Senior Research Fellow in the Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit. His research focuses on the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity. Tim’s work involves developing innovative methods for simulated climate futures and model coordination between climate, crop, water, energy, and economics.

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Since 1975, IFPRI’s research has been informing policies and development programs to improve food security, nutrition, and livelihoods around the world.

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IFPRI currently has more than 480 employees working in over 70 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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experts

Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion

Daniel Gilligan

Director, Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion (PGI)

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Bio

Dan Gilligan is Director of the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, and previously served as Deputy Director in IFPRI’s former Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division from 2015 to 2023. He is also Co-Lead of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Gender Equality (HER+). His research addresses the impact of interventions in social protection, agriculture, and nutrition; gender dimensions of intrahousehold decision-making; the design of programs to improve women’s well-being; and the economics of household investments in childhood nutrition and education. He has expertise in the design and conduct of randomized impact evaluations and many of his studies are based on mixed methods evaluations combining qualitative methods with field experiments. From 2013 to 2016, he was Adjunct Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. His research has been featured in The New York Times, the Economist, The Atlantic online, and in blogs at VoxDev, the World Bank, and The Guardian. He holds a PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Maryland.

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Publications

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Working Paper

Are government or non-governmental organization staff more effective in delivering frontline mental health services? Evidence from a culster randomized controlled trial

2026Hidrobo, Melissa; Deyessa, Negussie; Getahun, Tigabu; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hailemicheal, Adiam Hagos; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Zafar, Sarim
Details

Are government or non-governmental organization staff more effective in delivering frontline mental health services? Evidence from a culster randomized controlled trial

Large treatment gaps in mental health services exist in low- and middle-income countries. While low-intensity psychological interventions delivered by non-specialists show promise in closing this gap, evidence is limited regarding whether government health systems can scale these services effectively. Utilizing a randomized controlled trial across 222 villages in Tigray, Ethiopia, we compare the effectiveness of a psychological intervention, group Problem Management plus (gPM+), delivered in five sessions using two distinct platforms—government-employed Health Extension Workers (HEWs) and NGO-stipended local facilitators (LFs)—vis-a-vis a control arm that receives no intervention. At the one-month follow-up, we find that gPM+ significantly reduces adverse mental health symptoms (particularly depression and anxiety) across both delivery arms, and the intervention is more effective when delivered by LFs (0.22 SD) compared to HEWs (0.11 SD). However, at the 12-month follow-up, treatment effects largely attenuate to zero (mainly due to spontaneous recovery in the control arm) and we find no impacts on child development. The cost per month of depression averted is lower for LFs (PPP $120) vis-a-vis HEWs (PPP $145 to $162, depending on whether HEW time is costed). These findings show that low cost psychological interventions can effectively reduce adverse mental health symptoms in the short term when delivered through both government and NGO platforms, but NGO platforms are slightly more cost-effective.

Year published

2026

Authors

Hidrobo, Melissa; Deyessa, Negussie; Getahun, Tigabu; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hailemicheal, Adiam Hagos; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Zafar, Sarim

Citation

Hidrobo, Melissa; Deyessa, Negussie; Getahun, Tigabu; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hailemicheal, Adiam Hagos; et al. 2026. Are government or non-governmental organization staff more effective in delivering frontline mental health services? Evidence from a culster randomized controlled trial. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2450. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/185915

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Mental Health; Government; Nongovernmental Organizations; Interventions; Randomized Controlled Trials

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

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Journal Article

Do ultra-poor graduation programs build women’s resilience to weather shocks? Evidence from rural Ethiopia

2026Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; Villa, Victor
Details

Do ultra-poor graduation programs build women’s resilience to weather shocks? Evidence from rural Ethiopia

We assess whether layering an ultra-poor graduation program on Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) protects women and their households from localized weather shocks. Using panel data from a large cluster-randomized trial matched with detailed weather records, we identify community-level exposure to dryness shocks. Women who are exposed to dryness shocks experience deteriorating nutritional status (in conjunction with declining household food security and assets) and a significant increase in the risk of intimate partner violence. However, access to the graduation program fully buffers women from any increase in intimate partner violence, and partially buffers women and their households against other adverse effects. Further analysis suggests that improved household savings likely drives the program’s protective impact.

Year published

2026

Authors

Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; Villa, Victor

Citation

Hirvonen, Kalle; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Leight, Jessica; Tambet, Heleene; and Villa, Victor. 2026. Do ultra-poor graduation programs build women’s resilience to weather shocks? Evidence from rural Ethiopia. Journal of Public Economics 261(September 2026): 105733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105733

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Poverty; Gender; Resilience; Shock; Rural Areas; Weather Hazards; Climate Change; Social Safety Nets; Social Protection; Modelling

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2026.105733 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

The early bird gets the cash: Early notification and conditional cash transfers for secondary school

2026Leight, Jessica; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Mulford, Michael; Zafar, Sarim
Details

The early bird gets the cash: Early notification and conditional cash transfers for secondary school

What is the optimal timing for a cash transfer targeting increased secondary school enrollment? We present evidence from a randomized trial in rural Ethiopia showing a CCT increases enrollment and reduces child marriage. The largest effects are observed for youth offered the transfer a year prior to their (potential) matriculation; in this cohort, there is also a significant in-crease in the probability students pass the primary school leaving exam. By contrast, reduced treatment effects are observed for prior dropouts, and a generalized random forest analysis suggests this primarily reflects different observable characteristics (lower academic performance) among this sub-sample.

Year published

2026

Authors

Leight, Jessica; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Mulford, Michael; Zafar, Sarim

Citation

Leight, Jessica; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Mulford, Michael; and Zafar, Sarim. 2026. The early bird gets the cash: Early notification and conditional cash transfers for secondary school. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2421. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/183379

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Sub-saharan Africa; Eastern Africa; Cash Transfers; Social Protection; Education; Youth; Secondary Education

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Can cash and therapy work in conflict settings? Evidence from Ethiopia
Research Post
 | 
May 27, 2026

Can cash and therapy work in conflict settings? Evidence from Ethiopia

By Melissa Hidrobo, Harold Alderman, Negussie Deyessa, Daniel Gilligan, Parthu Kalva, Jessica Leight, Michael Mulford, and Heleene Tambet

Confronting the vicious cycle of poverty and mental health problems.

Can simpler, cheaper poverty graduation programs still deliver? Evidence from Ethiopia
Research Post
 | 
May 08, 2026

Can simpler, cheaper poverty graduation programs still deliver? Evidence from Ethiopia

By Jessica Leight, Daniel Gilligan, Melissa Hidrobo, Harold Alderman, and Michael Mulford

A “light touch” model delivers mixed results.

School meals and school-based actions for people and the planet: Nourishing bodies, minds, and futures
Research Post
 | 
May 01, 2026

School meals and school-based actions for people and the planet: Nourishing bodies, minds, and futures

By Tamsin Zandstra, Aulo Gelli, Daniel Gilligan, and Eleanor Jones

Impacts on education and beyond.

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Events

IFPRI @ 2026 World Food Prize: Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue
IFPRI at External Event

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October 20 to 22, 2026

IFPRI @ 2026 World Food Prize: Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue

IFPRI is participating in the 2026 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue. This year’s theme, “Before Hunger Wins,” highlights the urgent challenges facing global food security, including intensifying conflict, climate volatility, and deepening inequality. The Dialogue will bring together world leaders and experts to share knowledge, explore partnerships, and discuss strategies for addressing critical issues in […]

IFPRI @ Micronutrient Forum: 7th Global Conference
IFPRI at External Event

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September 28 to October 1, 2026

IFPRI @ Micronutrient Forum: 7th Global Conference

Micronutrient deficiencies are one of the world’s most widespread health crises, impacting one in two children and two in three women globally. Inadequate intake of essential vitamins and minerals can have lasting consequences on survival, health, and well-being that echo across generations and limit economic growth. As climate change and other crises disrupt food systems […]

Inequality within and outside the household: Reflections from Agnes Quisumbing's career
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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June 24, 2026, 10:00 – 11:30 am

Inequality within and outside the household: Reflections from Agnes Quisumbing’s career

Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, Agnes Quisumbing has made major contributions to research on intrahousehold allocation, poverty and economic mobility, women’s empowerment, and the design and implementation of gender-sensitive agricultural programs. Stemming from her long-standing interest in inequality, Agnes’s work on gender, property rights, and women’s empowerment examines how inequality within the […]

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News

August 21, 2026 | In the News

The fight over eggs in school meals (The Star)

The article cites a 2021 IFPRI study that found India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme has played an important role in reducing child stunting.

June 10, 2026 | Press Release

IFPRI and UNU-WIDER sign memorandum of understanding to advance research and policy in fragile contexts

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to generating high-quality, policy-relevant research and ensuring that evidence informs decision-making in some of the world’s most challenging environments.

September 22, 2020 | In the News

Cash assistance against corona crisis (Bistandsaktuelt) 

Bistandsaktuelt published an article on social protection in the form of cash payments to help prevent millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa from being thrown into extreme poverty because of the corona pandemic.  Deputy Division Director (PHN) and Senior Research Fellow Dan Gilligan states, “We are holding our breath to see if it will really explode in a large number of countries in […]

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