ASPIRES Evidence Series: Income Generating Activities and HIV Outcomes

This brief focuses on income-generating activities (IGAs), small-scale business initiatives that are often found in resource-constrained contexts. IGAs can be implemented either individually or in groups, and generally include training to build fundamental skills and the provision of basic business inputs. The studies in this brief all involved highly vulnerable populations, and existing evidence indicates that IGAs may positively impact HIV outcomes particularly with regards to self-reported risk reduction among female adolescents and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) populations. However, the overall quality of evidence on IGAs is moderate and findings are inconsistent.