Table 2.
Multidimensional child poverty index in Uganda
| Dimension | Indicator | Deprived if… | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health | Malnutrition (I) | The child has less than two meals a day OR the child did not eat any meat/fish last week | 1/12 |
| Sexual risk (I) | The child ever had sex unwillingly or the child aged below 18 had unprotected sex | 1/12 | |
| Mental health: depression (I) | The child has moderate to severe depression as measured by the child depression inventory | 1/12 | |
| Assets | Savings (I) | The child does not have money saved anywhere (bank, savings and credit cooperative, with parents/caregivers) | 1/12 |
| Clothing and shoes (I) | The child has less than two pieces of clothing or no shoes | 1/12 | |
| Means of communication or transportation (H) | The household does not own any of the following communication means: television, radio, and cell phone OR any of the transportation means: bicycle, motorcycle, and car | 1/12 | |
| Housing | Water source (H)a | The water source is more than 1 km from the household | 1/12 |
| Type of housing (H) | The house the household resides in is a muzigo, a hut, or a mud house / is not a brick house | 1/12 | |
| Electricity (H) | The household does not have electricity | 1/12 | |
| Behavioral risks | Child labor (I)b | The child aged below 18 engages in work | 1/12 |
| Drinking (I) | The child has drunk more than a few sips of alcohol in the past month | 1/12 | |
| School Dropout (I) | The school-aged child is not currently enrolled in school | 1/12 |
(I) individual child level indicator; (H) household level indicator
a
A total of 88 children responded “don’t know” to the water source question at baseline; hence the sample size was lowered due to this variable. The three groups did not differ in their likelihoods to respond “don’t know” to this question
b
Children aged above 18 are classified as not child laborers