Aid Accountability and Effectiveness: How to Measure Progress and Results

One of the Microcredit Summit Campaign's goals for 2015 is to ensure that 100 million families rise above the US$1 a day threshold. The Campaign has encouraged practitioners to use tools like the progress out of poverty index (PPI), a cost-effective way to determine whether clients move above the US$1 a day marker. But even simpler tools are available to track social progress, tools that don't link to an absolute measure such as US$1 a day. Grameen Bank's 10 poverty indicators make tremendous sense for clients in Bangladesh, and similar indicators can be selected for other countries. Both will be discussed with emphasis on the following:

A member is considered to have moved out of poverty if her family fulfills the following criteria: (I will discuss all 10 but have only listed eight here.)

1. The family lives in a house worth at least Taka 25,000 (US$370) or a house with a tin roof, and each member of the family is able to sleep on bed instead of on the floor.

2. Family members drink pure water [from] tube-wells, boiled water or water purified by using alum, arsenic-free, purifying tablets or pitcher filters.

3. All children in the family over six years of age are all going to school or finished primary school.

4. Family uses sanitary latrine.

5. Family members have adequate clothing for everyday use, warm clothing for winter, such as shawls, sweaters, blankets, etc, and mosquito-nets to protect themselves from mosquitoes.

6. Family has sources of additional income, such as vegetable garden, fruit-bearing trees, etc, so that they are able to fall back on these sources of income when they need additional money.

7. Family experiences no difficulty in having three square meals a day throughout the year, i. e. no member of the family goes hungry any time of the year.

8. Family can take care of the health. If any member of the family falls ill, family can afford to take all necessary steps to seek adequate healthcare.