STRIVE Activity Brief 3: STRIVE Philippines

The Supporting Transformation by Reducing Insecurity and Vulnerability with Economic Strengthening (STRIVE) program, managed by FHI 360 and funded by USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), was designed to build the evidence base around the links between market-driven economic strengthening approaches and the well-being of children and youth. The STRIVE Philippines project, which was implemented by Action For Enterprise (AFE), was one of four implementation projects in conflict-affected countries that aimed to improve the well-being of children through economic interventions that worked at the market or household level.

The objective of STRIVE Philippines was to improve the well-being of vulnerable households – especially for the children and youth within those households – through a market-based approach to economic strengthening in two targeted value chains (seaweed and woven products). The project did not target children and youth directly. Rather, the causal model for STRIVE Philippines was based on the project facilitating and supporting key private sector actors (Lead Firms)  in selected value chains to undertake initiatives to increase productivity and/or expand production of vulnerable producers that supply them. Through improvements in production and productivity, it was expected that producers’ income would increase and expand the overall income and economic well-being of their households. In turn, this economic strengthening would contribute to the improved well-being of children and youth within those households.