I began my work with USAID/PEPFAR in 2005 working on our Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programming. When I started studying the issue of children in the epidemic in the early 2000s, there was a rightful focus on the massive problem of orphanhood due to parental mortality. While orphanhood has not been eliminated, the fact that treatment has so radically changed and is sustaining the lives of both parents and children is a huge shift from both a health and economic perspective when considering the needs of children and communities. In development work, it can be rare to see that kind of change in such a "short" time. I'm still stunned when I think back to site visits in the early days of PEPFAR and how different things looked.
I think it's critically important that OVC team efforts have ensured that we continue to apply a multi-disciplinary, development approach to HIV response—reaching people in their homes and communities, addressing socio-economic factors and structural barriers to health, investing in children, and leveraging the breadth of USAID's development expertise for impact and sustainability.
I've been lucky to have so many opportunities to visit community activities like kids clubs and caregiver savings groups which never fail to inspire and energize me. On one site visit in Botswana several years ago, I was asked to help plant a tree at a school we were partnering with to ensure HIV-affected children had education access and support. That always stuck out to me as a particular honor, and as a former literature major I'm a sucker for symbolism!
Colette is a Senior OVC Advisor in USAID's Office of HIV/AIDS
