Social protection and cash transfers: To strengthen families affected by HIV and AIDS

TARGETING FAMILIES AFFECTED BY HIV AND AIDS 31

by HIV and AIDS, the Inter-Agency Task Team on Children and HIV and AIDS, and the Joint Learning Initiative on Children and AIDS (JLICA).3 There are also regional initiatives such as the National Plans of Action (NPAs) for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and the South Asian Association for Regional Co- operation (SAARC) Draft Framework for the Protection, Care, and Support of Children Affected by HIV/AIDS, among others.4 Apart and collectively, these have provided powerful opportunities for mobilizing strategies, resources, and action on behalf of children affected by HIV and AIDS. Although all allow room for OVC, they vary with respect to their focus on HIV/AIDS versus chil-

3The UNGASS Declaration of Commitment commits to “urge the international community, partic- ularly donor countries, civil society, as well as the private sector to complement effectively national programmes to support programmes for children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/ AIDS in affected regions, in countries at high risk and to direct special assistance to Sub-Saharan Africa” (UNGASS 2001). The Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the US president to provide assistance, including through nongovernmental or international organizations, for basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, including assistance for (1) community-based care, (2) school feeding programs, (3) education and employment training, (4) psychosocial support, (5) protection of inheritance rights, and (6) HIV/AIDS care. In 2004 UNICEF and the World Bank jointly convened the Second Global Partners’ Forum for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS. In 2006 this forum was hosted by UNICEF and the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and supported by UNAIDS, and it brought together senior representatives from 90 international NGOs and governments (World Bank 2004; UNICEF 2007c). Created in March 2001, the task force on children and HIV/ AIDS was first called the Inter-Agency Task Team on Orphans and other Vulnerable Children. In 2004, to better reflect the challenges facing orphans and nonorphaned children made vulnera- ble by the AIDS epidemic, the name was changed to the Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Chil- dren and HIV and AIDS. The IATT, composed of representatives from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) cosponsors, NGOs, donors, and other organizations involved in the international response to children affected by HIV and AIDS, promotes coordination and harmonization of programs and policies, encourages the development and sharing of technical and programmatic information, advocates for timely implementation of evidence-based inter- ventions, and supports networking and collaboration among partners (UNICEF 2007d). JLICA, launched in 2006 and continuing through 2009, drew on interdisciplinary collaboration among policymakers, practitioners, and scholars to address the needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS. JLICA aimed to mobilize and generate evidence on operational, political, and public policy issues as well as programmatic experience and to produce actionable recommendations for pol- icy and practice. JLICA also facilitated linkages among groups engaged in issues of children and

HIV/AIDS (JLICA 2007). 4Many southern and East African countries have recently drafted NPAs for OVC, which prioritize a range of services for OVC including childcare, psychosocial support, child protection, access to basic health and education services, improved sanitation, birth registration, and social safety nets. Some NPAs also include advocacy and institutional capacity building, as well as legislative reform to protect orphans and vulnerable children. By late 2006, at least 20 countries had drawn up NPAs, and others were bringing theirs to completion (Sabates-Wheeler and Pelham 2005; UNAIDS/UNICEF/WHO 2007). The SAARC Strategic Framework for the Protection, Care, and Sup- port of Children Affected by HIV/AIDS provides guidance to the eight member states on the pro- tection, care, and support of children affected by HIV/AIDS. The regional Framework establishes a regionally consistent response to meeting children’s medical, nutritional, educational, legal, and psychosocial needs in an age- and gender-sensitive manner within the context of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which all member states have ratified (SAARC 2007).

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