• Introduction to targeting
• How should I approach targeting?
• Targeting by level of vulnerability: Who is most vulnerable?
• Geographic Targeting:  Where do you find more OVC?
• How do I set constraints on the number of children assisted?
• How identify eligible children at the community level?
• What if community-based methods are not possible? 
• What about children outside family care?
• Is there a role for (public) institutions?

What if community-based methods are not possible? 

Community-based methods are not always feasible in urban settings, or in highly divisive situations (e.g., a community split along ethnic lines). In urban areas, they are more likely to work when the neighborhood is relatively small, has a relatively stable population and corresponds to a “real” community. But when people don’t know each other, or when tensions may be heightened by bringing together hostile groups, the best alternative way to identify OVC is probably through a census of households with children. The census takers collect information on the family status of the children in the household, that is, on their relationship to the household head and the whereabouts of their parents. This makes it possible to identify some of the children at risk, such as double-orphans not receiving support from an adult, children not related to the household head (more likely to be exploited), or orphans living with a single but sick parent.

In a situation of high numbers of OVC and strict budget constraint, the most vulnerable children can be identified by scoring. This can be simple and has the advantage of pointing to individual needs for services. For example, in the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), the NGO Médecins d’Afrique identifies those most vulnerable by surveying for orphans and then scoring them on a scale of one to three in each of three dimensions: (a) their medical condition, (b) their socio-economic condition, and (c) their psychological condition. All orphans receive a score of at least one on their medical condition, indicating that they will need access to medical visits and pharmaceuticals for common illnesses (acute respiratory infection, malaria and diarrhea). Orphans receive a score of 2 if they are sick enough to require hospitalization and of 3 if they appear to have HIV-AIDS and need to be entered in an anti-retroviral program.