Designing Bold Solutionsto Address Multidimensional Poverty in India

Integrated Programs

What the sector needs

Multidimensional poverty disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including women, children, and marginalized communities. Women face compounded disadvantages due to gender-based discrimination, which restricts their access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities. Children in impoverished households are often deprived of quality education and proper nutrition, limiting their prospects and perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Marginalized communities, including scheduled and indigenous tribes, frequently experience heightened levels of poverty due to systemic inequalities and social exclusion.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these vulnerabilities pushing an additional 57 million people into extreme poverty. The pandemic's economic fallout led to widespread job losses, learning and health regression, reduced incomes, and increased financial strain on households.

Addressing poverty in its multidimensional form requires a comprehensive approach. AIF’s integrated programs address poverty not just as a lack of financial resources, but as a deprivation of healthcare, education, and economic opportunity. In this holistic and transformative approach lies the potential of recovery, resilience, sustainable upward mobility, and a brighter future for all.

What we do

AIF's integrated programs are designed to combat entrenched poverty and create a blueprint for sustainable development. By focusing on vulnerable populations– especially women, children, and adolescents,– our programs address critical issues such as gender disparity, women’s economic empowerment, skills gaps, malnutrition, learning regression, school preparedness, and mental health challenges. Our initiatives enhance access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, striving to dismantle existing barriers and drive systemic change. Our goal is to address the root causes of poverty and the interconnected deprivations that sustain it.

At AIF, we are committed to empowering communities through equal, quality access to these vital resources by:

Strengthening early childhood care and education (ECCE)
Building the capacity of frontline health workers
Equipping rural women's Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with skills to increase their income
Providing comprehensive education on mental health to school-going adolescents
Empowering adolescent girls holistically, at the intersection of education, health, and livelihoods

Programs

S.N.E.H

Operating at the intersection of nutrition, health, education, and livelihoods, our S.N.E.H program’s multifaceted approach includes delivering nutritious meals to children under six, training Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) to enhance early childhood care and education (ECCE), improving the overall mental well-being of school-going adolescents, and equipping women in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with skills for increased income opportunities.

SAHELI

SAHELI is focused on empowering adolescent girls at the grassroots level through targeted programs in health, education, and livelihoods. Core components include comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, remedial education, and multidimensional livelihood initiatives that equip young girls with the skills and resources needed to start the journey towards financial independence.