Description

HHVGFCARD indicates whether the household has a "vulnerable group feeding (VGF) card." The vulnerable group feeding cards were meant to be distributed to very poor people by the Bangladesh government, beginning in 1975.

According to the International Labor Organization's description of the program:

Possession of a VGF card is not a certain marker of destitution, since an estimated 15 percent of the grain allotted was misallocated by local committees to better-off households for resale.

The information in HHVGFCARD is taken from the household record and applies to regular household residents, not temporary visitors. Researchers may wish to exclude visitors using the RESIDENT variable (with visitors coded "2") when women, children, or births are the unit of analysis, and using the HHRESIDENT variable when household members are the unit of analysis.

Comparability

HHVGFCARD has no comparability problems.

Comparability - Standard DHS

HHVGFCARD is a country-specific variable, and it is not included in any phase of the standard DHS questionnaire.

Universe