Resource Library

The ASPIRES Zimbabwe DREAMS Job Demand Market Analysis lays out a strategy to support youth employment and microenterprise development programs that place adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in jobs or self-employment, building on a comprehensive job demand market analysis tailored to the situation of AGYW in Zimbabwe.

PEPFAR implementers are interested in a standardized, rapid tool to capture economic vulnerability.

The alarming gender and age disparity in the rate of new HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa has driven the development of new initiatives to address the needs of young women. One of these initiatives is DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe), a $385 million partnership to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries. DREAMS targets girls and young women aged 10-24 and their male sex partners.

This literature review provides an overview of the tools and methods used to measure vulnerability, as pertains to development interventions focused on economic strengthening, at the population level as well as the household and individual level.

Vulnerability assessments can help with designing programs to meet the needs of intended beneficiaries, more accurately target vulnerable households, and set indicative benchmarks for success.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is known to be a significant contributor to infant morbidity and mortality in many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Strategies for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) dramatically reduce the risk of HIV transmission to an infant—from nearly 40 percent to less than five percent. The PMTCT services can also serve as a gateway for HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services for the mother and the whole family.

This report was prepared to inform planning in the USAID-funded ASPIRES project. It includes a review of some of the existing tools used to assess vulnerability to either separation or negative child well-being outcomes with attention to economic security for the purposes of targeting households for program participation and matching them to appropriate interventions. ASPIRES is sharing this report as an information resource with the wider interested community given its relevance to other actors working in this area.

This review presents a synthesis of the literature on the impact of community-based microfinance approaches on the well-being of vulnerable children and youth, with a specific focus on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). It aims to collect, organize, and assess evidence for economic strengthening (ES) activities and to inform practice in significant ways.  

This report is an overview of the key issues addressed during the “Keeping Children and Families together with Economic Strengthening” symposium funded by USAID’s Displaced Children and Orphan’s Fund (DCOF) and implemented by FHI 360 through the STRIVE project.

Female sex workers (FSWs) have been identified as a key population in the global fight against AIDS. In concentrated, mixed, and even generalized epidemics, the contribution of sex work toward the onward transmission of HIV is substantial.  HIV risk is directly related to the economic vulnerability of FSWs, the vast majority of whom report entering sex work for financial reasons due to lack of alternative employment opportunities.