Basic material needs

Export Indicator

Ratio of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) versus non-OVC who have three minimum basic material needs for personal care.
What it measures

To assess the capacity of families to provide basic material needs for children under their care.
This indicator assesses the capacity of families to provide children with minimum basic materia needs. The suggested items for measurement are availability of a blanket, shoes and two sets of clothes. These three items should be modified at country level if other basic needs are considered more important (sleeping mat, sheets, school books, soap, etc.). Food, education and medical care are also considered essential survival needs; however, they are covered by other indicators in this manual and are therefore excluded from this indicator.
The indicator estimates whether the overall levels of basic personal needs for children are being met. Furthermore, when calculated as a ratio of OVC to non-OVC, it assesses progress in preventing relative disadvantages for orphaned and vulnerable children.

Rationale
Numerator

(1) Proportion (%) of OVC who have three minimum basic material needs for personal care. Numerator 1: Number of OVC aged 5–17 surveyed with a minimum set of three basic personal material needs. Denominator 1: Number of OVC aged 5–17 surveyed.

Denominator

(2) Proportion (%) of non-OVC who have three minimum basic material needs for personal care. Numerator 2: Number of non-OVC aged 5–17 surveyed with a minimum set of three basic personal material needs. Denominator 2: Number of non-OVC aged 5–17 surveyed.

Calculation

Ratio of OVC to non-OVC who have their basic material needs met: The ratio of (1) proportion (%) of OVC who have three minimum basic material needs to (2) proportion (%) of non-OVC who have three minimum basic material needs.

Method of measurement

Ratio of OVC to non-OVC who have their basic material needs met: The ratio of (1) proportion (%) of OVC who have three minimum basic material needs to (2) proportion (%) of non-OVC who have three minimum basic material needs. In a household survey, questions on the availability of each item should be asked for each child in the household. Items selected for inclusion should be the same for all children 5–17 years old.

Measurement frequency
Disaggregation

Age group:

Education: N/A

Gender: N/A

Geographic location: N/A

Pregnancy status: N/A

Sector: N/A

Target: N/A

Time period: N/A

Type of orphan: N/A

Vulnerability status: N/A

Explanation of the numerator
Explanation of the denominator
Strengths and weaknesses

In some countries the chosen items will not be appropriate, so the indicator will not always be comparable between countries. Basic needs might also vary by regions within countries (i.e., variations in climate), so adjustments should be made as necessary. These questions could potentially raise respondents’ expectations that free handouts might be provided to households who do not have these goods. This can be avoided if interviewers carefully explain the purpose and goals of the survey to respondents before the start of the interview.  Strengthening the capacity of families to protect orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS is the first line of support for impact mitigation. A comparison of OVC versus non-OVC who have the basic material needs will show the capacity of families to compensate for the extra burden of orphans in a household. If the ratio is less than one, this might indicate that the social welfare systems are failing to supply the external support to families to provide for orphaned children. This indicator should be analysed in conjunction with other basic social support services such as education (school attendance). As children get older they are more likely to be orphaned because the risk of a parent dying increases over time. If there is also a correlation between basic material needs and age (i.e., older children are more likely to have shoes), there will be ‘confounding’ between orphan status and basic material needs. For calculating ratios between OVC and non-OVC, one should ideally adjust for the differentage structure between the two groups

Further information