Bedoya, GuadalupeBelyakova, YuliaCoville, AidanEscande, ThomasIsaqzadeh, MohammadNdiaye, Aminata2023-11-072023-11-072023-11-07https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/40577How do proven strategies to improve the economic conditions of ultra-poor households hold up against the increasing severity and co-incidence of economic, security, and climate shocks Five years after receiving an economic livelihoods package, and shortly prior to the 2021 regime change, “ultra-poor” women in Afghanistan continued to have significantly higher levels of consumption, assets, market work participation, financial inclusion, children’s school enrollment, and women’s psychological well-being and empowerment, relative to the control group. Households boost resilience by diversifying productive activities and the program improves equality by reducing the gaps between ultra-poor and non-ultra- poor households across multiple dimensions. The results illustrate how an increasingly popular approach to improve the conditions of the very poor through a one-off “big push” intervention can strengthen household resilience through multiple shocks in one of the most fragile settings worldwide.enCC BY 3.0 IGOEXTREME POVERTY INTERVENTIONPOVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGYBIG PUSH POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGYWOMEN'S EMPOWERMENTLIVESTOCK OWNERSHIPPRODUCTIVE ASSET TRANSFERREPRODUCIBILE RESEARCH REPOSITORYWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-10596