Children and HIV/AIDS
From SOUL BEAT AFRICA - where communication and media are central to AFRICA's social and economic development
In this issue of The Soul Beat:
* OVC PROJECTS on mapping services and interactive radio
* Soul Beat Africa's HIV/AIDS THEME SITE
* STRATEGIC THINKING about community mobilisation and memory work
* GLOBAL INFORMATION HUB for children and HIV
* RESOURCES for working with and for children
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This edition of The Soul Beat includes a selection of programme experiences, strategic thinking documents, and materials from the Soul Beat Africa website that address children and HIV and AIDS. It focuses mainly on orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the context of HIV/AIDS and what is being done to support OVC in relation to child participation, family and community support, community mobilisation, rights, and education. To a lesser extend this newsletter also looks at the rights and needs of children living with HIV.
If you would like your organisation's communication work or research and resource documents to be featured on the Soul Beat Africa website and in The Soul Beat newsletters, please contact soulbeat@comminit.com
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1. Children Services Directory - South Africa
The South Africa Department of Social Development (DSD) is producing an online Children Services Directory to be launched in August 2010. The directory is intended to facilitate access to and help coordinate services for orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) in each province in South Africa. The PEPFAR-funded project seeks to help children and their caregivers identify sources of assistance; help the South African government ensure services are available where needed; assist donors to better programme their OVC activities; and aid OVC service providers to better target their activities.
Contact Moses Ramufhi MosesRa@dsd.gov.za OR Hermann Bosman hermanb@socdev.gov.za
2. Inzwi Redu/Ilizwi Lethu/Our Voice Radio Programme - Zimbabwe
Launched under the National Action Plan for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programme in May 2009, this interactive radio programme focuses on the needs of OVC in Zimbabwe. The radio series, entitled Inzwi Redu/Ilizwi Lethu/Our Voice, seeks to encourage children’s participation in response to HIV and AIDS through a studio-based discussion between a grandmother and a group of children.
Contact National Action Plan (NAP) for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) secretariat@zimnapovc.co.zw OR SAfAIDS info@safaids.org.zw
3. Child-Centred Approaches to HIV/AIDS (CCATH) – Kenya and Uganda
Child-Centred Approaches to HIV/AIDS (CCATH) project in Kenya and Uganda aims to develop and help strengthen community coping strategies for supporting children and young people in communities affected by HIV/AIDS. The project partners work with community-based organisations (CBOs) to learn from their experiences and to support them in assessing needs and in identifying, developing, and evaluating practical responses to help children and their families cope with the impact of HIV/AIDS.
4. A Grandmother's Tribe: Documentary on HIV/AIDS - Kenya
This documentary film tells the story of two Kenyan grandmothers who have stepped in after the loss of their own children to raise their young grandchildren. It is designed to increase awareness of the large numbers of grandmothers in Africa who struggle to care for orphans of HIV/AIDS. The project also developed a website and a discussion guide that supports people and organisations to take action and organise their own public screenings and fundraising activities.
Contact Qiujing Wong qiujing@borderlessproductions.com
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SOUL BEAT AFRICA HIV/AIDS THEME SITE
Soul Beat Africa's HIV/AIDS theme site shares information about media and communication for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support in Africa. See the HIV/AIDS theme site.
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5. SAWAKA Jali Watoto Program Supporting Most-Vulnerable Children, Tanzania
This 2009 report was produced as part of a MEASURE Evaluation initiative to find out about "what works" to improve the well-being of children affected by HIV and AIDS. This case study was conducted to provide a detailed account of the operations of the Pact/Jali Watoto project in supporting OVC through the SAWAKA (Saidia Wazee Karagwe) organisation in Karagwe district in Tanzania. The programme strategies focus on mobilising and supporting community-based responses; and utilising advocacy and social mobilisation to create supportive environments and reduce stigma and discrimination.
6. Home Truths: Facing the Facts on Children, AIDS, and Poverty - Final Report of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS
Published in 2009, this final report of the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and HIV/AIDS (JLICA) summarises its main results and recommendations, which focus on the following principles: support children through families; strengthen community action that backstops families; address family poverty through national social protection; and deliver integrated, family-centred services to meet children's needs. Its goal is to improve the well-being of children, families, and communities affected by HIV/AIDS by producing actionable, evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice.
7. Community Action and the Test of Time: A Summary of the Retrospective Study of Community Mobilization and Community Feedback
7. Community Action and the Test of Time: A Summary of the Retrospective Study of Community Mobilization and Community Feedback
By Justin Opoku and John Williamson
This review, published by the United States Agency for International Development in 2008, assesses mobilisation programmes in Malawi and Zambia to support OVC, especially in the context of HIV. According to the report, mobilising community action is an increasingly common component of many programmes designed to address the safety, well-being, and development of OVC.
8. Seen and Heard: Involving Children in Responses to HIV and AIDS
By Robin Vincent
This HIV/AIDS communication policy brief, published by Panos London in 2009, explores strategies for involving children - including young children - in responses to HIV and AIDS. "Seen and Heard" looks at a range of barriers to children's participation, the challenges of accommodating the distinctive communication styles of children, and promising initiatives to support children's communication and participation. It emphasises the importance of listening to the voices and experiences of children, and recognising their energy and creativity in addressing the lived realities of HIV and AIDS in their households and communities.
9. Faces of Positive Change: Highlighting Positive Changes in the Lives of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ethiopia
By Kelley Lynch, Samson Radeny, and Kelley Bunkers
This book, published by Save the Children in 2009, shares stories and photographs of children, families, and communities who have participated in and benefited from the PC3 Programme (Positive Change: Children, Communities, and Care) in Ethiopia. The book is designed to be a celebration of three groups: children, families, and communities whose participation in the PC3 programme is creating significant changes in the lives of individuals and families across Ethiopia. According to the authors, the stories and photos contained in this book are examples of positive change, and provide insight into how children can be part of this change.
10. Inspiring Futures: Learning from Memory Work in Africa
By Alison Dunn and Sarah Hammond Ward
Published by HealthLink Worldwide in 2009, this learning paper looks at experiences of applying memory work as part of broader strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS in five African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The paper explores how six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in sub-Saharan Africa established memory work as a key component of their community-based HIV programmes. The report suggests that memory work can be a successful way to encourage communication and reduce stigma, when integrated into existing support programmes.
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OVCsupport.net is a global hub for the exchange of experience, practice, and tools on policy and programming about children and HIV. It is managed and moderated by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. Click here to go to the website.
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11. Promoting Quality Education for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: A Sourcebook of Programme Experiences in Eastern and Southern Africa
This report, published by United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) in 2009, documents 12 case studies in Kenya, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia that represent a wide range of approaches to address the educational rights and needs of orphans and vulnerable children. The cases cover an array of interventions in terms of scope, medium of delivery, and beneficiaries. According to the publishers, as the HIV and AIDS epidemic becomes increasingly complex, and as the personal and social consequences rise, the ways in which societies respond to ensure children's right to quality education must become more integrated, nuanced, and dynamic.
12. Facilitating Youth Caregiver Solidarity and Empowerment - An Animator's Guidebook to the Giving Hope Empowerment Methodology
By Tammi Mott
Prepared by Church World Service to facilitate a youth empowerment approach among organisations working with orphan- and youth-headed vulnerable households, this guidebook was created to focus the efforts of social workers and community volunteers on creating spaces where youth who have become the caregivers of their families can come together and take charge of their futures. The guidebook, which was published in 2009, is designed to help social workers and community volunteers appreciate the skills and resources youth can contribute to the protection and development of HIV-affected families and to assist social workers and community volunteers to build their own skills for mobilising and "animating" these youth.
13. Africa's Orphaned and Vulnerable Generations: Children Affected by AIDS
This document was assembled to show how the AIDS epidemic continues to affect sub-Saharan Africa children disproportionately, making them more vulnerable than other children, leaving many of them orphaned, and threatening their survival. Published by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United States President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2006, the report contains research on orphans and vulnerable children, including what governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector, and the international community can do to better respond.
14. Children to the Fore! An Easy-to-Use Training Handbook that Promotes Child Rights and Cultural Issues in the Face of HIV in Southern Africa
Produced by the Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) in 2009, this handbook is designed to be an easy-to-use training handbook to promote child rights and cultural issues in the face of HIV in southern Africa. It is intended for use by trainers at all levels who recognise the need to respect child rights in the community, in the context of their culture, and in relation to HIV and AIDS. The handbook includes methods for upholding positive cultural practices, as well as opportunities to revisit harmful cultural ways.
15. The African Child Speaks "Finding our Rights in the Time of HIV" - The Story of Rudo and Themba - Comic Book
This comic book, published by Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) with support from the Bernard van Leer Foundation in 2009, has been developed as part of a broader project to ensure that child rights are recognised and upheld within communities. In particular, it aims to enhance children's confidence and understanding of their rights and responsibilities within their own cultural context and social norms. In addition, the book aims to strengthen their ability to make decisions through a rights-based perspective, reduce their personal risk of HIV infection, and enhance their abilities to cope with the many impacts of the HIV epidemic.
16. You and Your Child with HIV - Living Positively
By Noreen Ramsden and Cati Vawda
This full-colour picture handbook, published by Children's Right Center in 2007, is designed to support the care of children and babies living with HIV. It encourages children to live positively and to participate actively in the medical and health management of their illness. The booklet was created to help parents care for their children and to give them information to better understand what health workers tell them, as well as what to expect or ask at the clinic or hospital.
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Related previous issues of The Soul Beat newsletter include:
The Soul Beat 145 - Protecting Children's Rights in Africa
The Soul Beat 129 - Power of Personal Narrative
The Soul Beat 75 - Action for Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Click here to view all archived editions of The Soul Beat Newsletter.
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