This paper examines the impact of the weakening of the extended family on the education of double orphans in Lesotho through in-depth interviews with participants from 3 of the 10 districts in Lesotho. The findings reveal that in Lesotho the extended family has not yet disintegrated as the literature suggests. However, it shows signs of rupturing, as many orphans reported that they are being ta...

This study estimates ex ante poverty and vulnerability of households in Bangladesh using Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data in 2005. Our results show that poverty is not same as vulnerability as a substantial share of those currently above the poverty line is highly vulnerable to poverty in the future. The study finds that those without education or agricultural households are ...

Accurate measurement of household food security is essential to generate adequate information on the proportion of households experiencing food insecurity, especially in areas or regions vulnerable to food shortages and famine. This manuscript offers a methodological examination of three commonly used indicators of household food security - experience of hunger, dietary diversity, and coping st...

Households in developing countries use a variety of informal mechanisms to cope with risk, including mutual support and risk-sharing. These mechanisms cannot avoid that they remain vulnerable to shocks. Public programs in the form of food aid distribution and food-for-work programs are meant to protect vulnerable households from consumption and nutrition downturns by providing a safety net. In ...

The objective of this study was to identify and describe levels of household economic vulnerability in HIV-affected communities in Côte d'Ivoire, defined as those with a high prevalence of HIV and large numbers of orphans and vulnerable children. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 3,749 households in five health regions of Côte d'Ivoire. Using principal component analysis, we attempted to...

Households in developing countries use a variety of informal mechanisms to cope with risk, including mutual support and risk-sharing. These mechanisms cannot avoid that they remain vulnerable to shocks. Public programs in the form of food aid distribution and food-for-work programs are meant to protect vulnerable households from consumption and nutrition downturns by providing a safety net. In ...

This paper presents findings on conditions of healthcare delivery in Afghanistan. There is an ongoing debate about barriers to healthcare in low-income as well as fragile states. In 2002, the Government of Afghanistan established a Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS), contracting primary healthcare delivery to non-state providers. The priority was to give access to the most vulnerable group...

This paper documents the main findings of a study on food insecurity and vulnerability in the Indian state of Orissa in support of promoting interventions for food security and livelihoods at state level. A similar study was undertaken in Himachal Pradesh, India. The paper analyses the main characteristics and causes of food insecurity and vulnerability. It seeks to identify who are vulnerable ...

In the HIV and AIDS sphere, children remain on the margins with respect to advocacy, prevention, treatment and care. Moreover, concern is generally limited to specific categories of children, most especially children living with HIV, orphaned children and child-headed households. Excluded from view are the very large numbers of children affected by generalized HIV/AIDS epidemics, now in advance...