BACKGROUND
Nearly 12 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Many more children have been made vulnerable because of family illness and the widespread impact of HIV/AIDS on their communities. Orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) are more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation and are also more likely to engage in unsafe behaviors, increasing the risk of HIV infection. Targeted OVC interventions, linked with broader development efforts around education, food and nutrition, and livelihood assistance, contribute to reducing the risk and impact of HIV/AIDS on the most vulnerable population in Mozambique.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
SDS-OVC-MZ aims to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to care for and protect the children in their care. The activity will take a family-centered approach through a set of interventions that will: strengthen families and communities; build resilience; and create a fostering environment for a healthy physical, social and emotional development of children.
EXPECTED RESULTS AND IMPACTS
- Increased utilization of quality social, health and nutritional services – work with networks of community providers to strengthen their capacity to initiate and retain clients in HIV and other care and refer them for onward services.
- Reduced economic vulnerability of OVC households support OVC households – build fundamental skills at community level to support OVC households to access financial products and services through Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups; transform economic resource allocation in the household in favor of OVC; and support young women to strengthen employability and entrepreneurship skills
- Strengthened capacity of district governments and communities – focusing on critical government and community systems, structures and services, developing both their organizational and technical capacity to provide and refer for services, and to manage individual and family cases.
