Developing a tool that measures the well-being of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) – how can we get to outcomes?

In 2012, an INGO formed an internal working group tasked with developing a tool that effectively measures critical outcomes among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV and their caregivers. Methods: Program officers from the working group with representatives from five country programs convened in Arusha, Tanzania to develop key outcome indicators. Then a group of monitoring and evaluation officers and program officers worked together to adapt a pilot version of a MEASURE evaluation tool that assesses child and caregiver well-being. Results: Fifteen standard indicators for children and caregivers were developed, including objective measures such as HIV and nutritional status. The team developed a standard tool that measures these outcomes, along with a template protocol for data collection and suggested methods for indexing the data. Guidelines for mobile phone data collection are also included in the protocol. These tools are currently being piloted and validated in Tanzania and Nigeria. Discussion: Outcome measurement in OVC programs has been weak since the beginning of PEPFAR, when programs focused on direct service delivery to meet the emergency needs of children and families. Now that programs have matured and focus on strengthening the child welfare and protection systems, standard tools for measuring outcomes are critical in order to demonstrate that programs are actually improving the well-being of vulnerable children. Outcome measurements will be difficult to retro-fit to existing program where outcome data were not required, but will be useful with new programs that are being launched to support this important vulnerable population.