Climate Shock Resilience of Integrated WASH and Livelihood Interventions: Evidence from a QuasiExperiment in Zambia

Integrated livelihoods programs are central to rural poverty eradication in low-income countries, but how to strengthen their resilience to climate shocks remains critical to preventing reimpoverishment. We draw on data from two survey rounds covering 1,805 ultra-poor households in Zambia during the historic 2023–2024 El Ni˜no drought to test whether layering water access infrastructure on top of livelihood training strengthens resilience. Using a field quasi-experiment with three treatment arms and a control group, we assess resilience by examining food and nutrition security and income for households facing the drought. We compare a livelihood-only package against a multi-sectoral package that adds improved water access, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions. The results show a clear gap between self-reported food access and diet quality. While all treatment arms significantly reduced the psychosocial experience of food insecurity (HFIAS), the livelihood-only packages did not protect material welfare. Only the Multi-Sectoral Package (T1) sustained dietary diversity (HDDS) and significantly reduced the duration of acute hunger. This resilience was accompanied by a sizable income gain: T1 households generated approximately four times more incremental income than the livelihood-focused arms. Mechanism analysis points most strongly to the relaxation of a binding labor constraint. The water infrastructure reduced the drought-induced time tax, allowing households to reallocate labor from water collection toward productive non-farm income generation. These findings suggest that in the era of climate volatility, training- and market-oriented programming is more effective when paired with protective infrastructure. 2026 Annual Meeting, July 26 - 28, 2026, Kansas City, Missouri