Let's Stop Trying to Quantify Household Vulnerability: The Problem with Simple Scales for Targeting and Evaluating Economic Strengthening Programs

Economic strengthening practitioners are increasingly seeking data collection tools that will help them target households vulnerable to HIV and poor child well-being outcomes, match households to appropriate interventions, monitor their status, and determine readiness for graduation from project support. This article discusses efforts in 3 countries to develop simple, valid tools to quantify and classify economic vulnerability status.