This report provides a summary of key findings from evaluations of four programs, two in Kenya and two in Tanzania, supporting orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). This study was conducted by MEASURE Evaluation in 2006-2007 and funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The overall aim of these evaluations was to ascertain the extent to which program interventions are effective in improving the well-being of OVC and their families, and the interventions’ cost-effectiveness in achieving key outcomes.

The report findings include affirmation that initiatives extending beyond OVC to include guardians and the general community were found to be associated with some positive outcomes for guardians, as well as for the children under their care. For instance, support group participation of OVC guardians was associated with positive psychosocial outcomes for guardians as well as less household abuse and more prosocial behavior of the children in their household. Further, two interventions that provided guardians with an opportunity to supplement family income were associated with reduced household food insecurity and achieved such success at a low cost per beneficiary. Additionally, study findings highlight the importance of involving guardians in the development of interventions targeting children

This report makes the case for redirecting the response to HIV and AIDS to address children’s needs more effectively. Drawing on the best body of evidence yet assembled on children affected by AIDS, it shows where existing approaches have gone off track and what should now be done, how, and by whom. The report summarizes the evidence from two years of research and analysis by the Joint
Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA).

Focusing mainly on countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, the report examines what has worked and what hasn’t in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and emphasizes the need for HIV and AIDS services to be complemented with a social protection agenda, placing children front and center. Strengthening families, supporting collaborative action within communities, and securing the human capital of rising generation will be key elements in future efforts to end the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Click the link below to download the report in English. It is also available in French and Portuguese here.

This brief outlines the major findings of a research project into livelihoods and parental planning in Southern Africa. The aim of the study was to find out how parents and other caregivers are planning and acting to secure their children’s future. The intention was to paint a broad picture of people’s livelihoods to understand their perspectives and experiences, what is affecting their families and welfare, which interventions they are benefiting from, and how they are responding. The results of qualitative household research in rural Chikwawa District in Malawi, as well as peri-urban Amajube District and urban Durban in South Africa, indicate that vulnerable people are aware of the threats to their welfare and that they have limited options to sustain their families and livelihoods, let alone provide their children with the means to achieve a stable existence.

This document offers practical guidance for programs aimed at addressing the needs of children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. It provides key definitions, guiding principles, and important considerations for programming decisions. The guidance clarifies PEPFAR/Emergency Plan priorities and the activities that it will fund related to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). It builds on the principles outlined in the U.S. Five-Year Global HIV/AIDS Strategy, and extends the vision and guidance of the President’s Emergency Plan. The knowledge and evidence base underpinning this guidance continues to grow. With new experiences and learning over time, this OVC Guidance is expected to evolve. Updates will incorporate new insights, improved practices and lessons learned.

This paper, written from a health/HIV practitioner perspective, analyzes strategies for addressing the economic strengthening of orphans and vulnerable children in countries with a low prevalence of HIV/AIDS. It makes program and policy recommendations, filling an important gap in our understanding of programming for children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Asia and by inference, in other regions of low prevalence.

The study’s hypothesis is that:

• Economic strengthening (ES) of children affected by HIV/AIDS and families is more effective if it is community based (rather than just household or individual based)
  
• Examples of ES with children affected by HIV/AIDS in low prevalence countries may be different to those found in high prevalence countries
  
• Examples of ES in Asia involving communities are many, home grown and not necessarily in the HIV portfolio, with many lessons learned from the poverty alleviation sector
  
• Whatever the examples and interventions, ES is critical as it directly affects children’s access to services – education, health, nutrition and psycho-social

The study used a case study method to test this hypothesis, identifying four programs of ES and children affected by HIV/AIDS in three countries of Asia – India, Bangladesh and Cambodia. The projects are representative of the diversity and scope of the study and were selected using a child lens – which projects address children who are most affected and vulnerable to HIV?

This report is the result of a series of participatory workshops with children who are part of the Kwa Wazee Project in the Kagera district of Tanzania. The main activity of the Project is to provide a cash transfer in the form of a small monthly pension to grandparents (mostly grandmothers) who are caretakers for orphaned children.

The report provides an understanding of the issues children are facing and directions for policy and programme intervention. It is clear that children living in elderly-headed households have more stressors in their lives than children living with parents. The findings in this study suggest that the following characterise the issues affecting elderly-headed households:

• poverty
• grandchildren as caretakers
• an uncertain future
• a generation gap

This section of the USAID microLINKS website provides an overview of the USAID Value Chain framework and related resources. The framework is useful in assessing markets to identify a) potential market opportunities for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), b) constraints to market growth and the inclusion of MSMEs and c) priority points of intervention in order to overcome those constraints.

This training manual details how to set up and run a Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) programme. The programmes are designed to empower orphans and other vulnerable children aged 12 to 18 years who live in communities where HIV/AIDS has had a strong impact on food security. This Getting Started manual comprises two parts. The first part provides background information on the JFFLS approach, its origins and guiding principles. The second part describes how to initiate and manage a JFFLS. This part is divided into nine chapters, each representing a step that needs to be taken to implement a school.

The manual incorporates experience from people working with orphaned and vulnerable children living in areas with high HIV prevalence levels in Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The manual is generic and is meant to be used in different regions of the world. It can be adapted for use in areas where HIV prevalence is still very low but children are made vulnerable by extreme poverty, trafficking and conflict.

This briefing note considers the economic impact of HIV and AIDS on children and explains why programs need to strengthen the livelihood and economic skills and resources of children, families and communities. It outlines the key principles of programming to improve the economic situation of children affected by HIV and AIDS, and describes possible ways of taking action to strengthen the livelihood and economic skills and resources of children, families and communities. Case study examples are included to illustrate practical application of some of these principles and strategies.

For many poor households, the impact of HIV/AIDS is subsumed by everyday concerns of falling into poverty. Helping households protect their economic resources by building income and savings is of critical importance. This paper suggests how microfinance institutions can innovate in order to better help their clients protect their economic resources in the face of the threats of poverty and HIV/AIDS.