HIV and AIDS/STI and TB Multisectoral Strategic Plan and Implementation Framework 2015 - 2020

EAC HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan.pdf

This strategic plan lays out the strategic intents for East African Community (EAC) HIV and AIDS program for the period 2015-2020. The plan will set the boundaries within which the EAC will implement its HIV and AIDS, TB and STIs interventions within the spheres of its mandate. The costed plan will further be a tool for resource mobilization as well as being a reference point for addressing HIV and AIDS, TB and STIs issues that are trans-boundary in nature within the region.

Specific Objectives of the strategic plan includes: 
• To reduce new cases of HIV by 60%, TB by 50% and STIs by 50% by 2020 in the EAC region
• To reduce HIV and TB related mortality by 75% by 2020 in the EAC region
• To increase access and utilization of integrated HIV, TB and STI services by 50% in 2020 

Even though all Partner States have generalized HIV epidemics, with some of the highest rates of TB infection and disease burden in the world, there are still higher levels of infection and transmission within certain geographic areas, as well as among some key populations and venerable groups. Although this strategic plan promotes a broad framework for addressing HIV, STIs and TB at a general population level, it also identifies priority populations that should be targeted for specific prevention, care, treatment and support interventions based on the analysis of the EAC epidemic. The risk of HIV, STIs or TB is not equal for all populations. In the context of this strategic plan and for the purpose of regional programming, the priority populations include, but it not limited to:

• Adolescent girls and young women
• Migrant populations and mobile workers.
• Orphans and other vulnerable children and adolescents
• People with disabilities
• Young people in and out of school
• Adolescents living with HIV and AIDS
• Infant and young children

This strategic plan makes provision that these populations will be targeted with different, but specific, interventions during implementation to achieve maximum impact. The EAC in collaboration with partner states will ensure geographical mapping and geographical prioritization of interventions for Key and Vulnerable populations for HIV and TB especially for regional aspects of the response.

Strengthening the Economic Imperative for Social Protection

Strengthening the economic imperative for social protection.pdf

The OECd’s most recent Development Co-operation Report presents evidence identifying the role of social protection in reducing poverty and achieving progress towards the millennium development goals while accelerating pro-poor and inclusive economic growth. The report cites successful African examples — including Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia — of the potential economic gains from child-sensitive social protection.

Social protection interventions delivered to children have the potential to tackle inequity in a meaningful and sustainable manner. early interventions during crucial developmental stages generate the highest returns on this investment, increasing adult productivity and earning potential and contributing to the competitiveness of Africa’s workforce.

While conventional thinking sometimes posits a trade-off between equity and growth, African nations are increasingly consolidating a strong foundation for economic progress by investing in their most productive asset—their human resources. Across the continent the number of core social protection programmes has increased ten-fold, from 25 in 2000 (in nine countries) to 245 in 2012 (in 41 countries).

ENUMERATING STREET CHILDREN

Retrak Enumerating Street Children Oct2014.pdf

Understanding the size of the street children population in a city or country can help inform the policy and practice designed to assist these children.

It can also form a baseline from which to track the impact of interventions and enable learning about the quality and appropriateness of interventions. This information is greatly lacking at the moment and many studies that do exist are not able to establish the accuracy or reliability of their results. This paper presents an approach to counting children on the streets which is methodologically reliable and accurate and takes into account the challenges of such an undertaking.

This paper is a contribution to building the evidence base of good practice in determining the number and characteristics of street children. Our aim is to outline an approach to counting children on the streets that is methodologically reliable and accurate and take into account the challenges outlined above.

ENUMERATING STREET CHILDREN

Retrak Enumerating Street Children Oct2014.pdf

Understanding the size of the street children population in a city or country can help inform the policy and practice designed to assist these children.

It can also form a baseline from which to track the impact of interventions and enable learning about the quality and appropriateness of interventions. This information is greatly lacking at the moment and many studies that do exist are not able to establish the accuracy or reliability of their results. This paper presents an approach to counting children on the streets which is methodologically reliable and accurate and takes into account the challenges of such an undertaking.

This paper is a contribution to building the evidence base of good practice in determining the number and characteristics of street children. Our aim is to outline an approach to counting children on the streets that is methodologically reliable and accurate and take into account the challenges outlined above.

Community responses for children affected by AIDS: Challenges for the future! RIATT-ESA satellite – ICASA 2011

Community responses for children affected by AIDS: Challenges for the future! RIATT-ESA satellite – ICASA 2011.pps

The RIATT-ESA held a very successful satellite session at ICASA 2011. Focusing on Strengthening families, Increasing effectiveness of resources, and Child participation, The key note address was presented by Dr. Chewe Luo, and looked at future challenges in the community response for children affected by AIDS. 

Dr. Luo is a Paediatrician and Tropical Child Health specialist from Zambia, currently working as Technical team leader for Country programme scale-up and Senior programme Advisor for HIV at UNICEF, New York. She has over 15 years of experience in HIV/AIDS and child health as a clinician and researcher at the University Teaching Hospital in Zambia; as a clinician in the UK, and working with UNICEF at country, regional and headquarter levels. She has a Masters of Medicine in Paediatrics from the University of Zambia and a Masters in tropical Paediatrics and a PhD from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the UK

APPROACHING OUTREACH WORK

Retrak Outreach Work Oct2014.pdf

ENUMERATING STREET CHILDREN

This paper outlines principals of outreach work with street or homeless children. 

These principals include: Following a rights based aproach; Understanding each child and his/her situation; building relationships; being flexible; building in reflection and ensurging staff care and protection. 

These principles provide the foundation to which outreach workers can return as they apply Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in their work. The aim in using this SOPs is to get to know children on the streets and begin to build trusting relationships with them, so that they can be safer on the streets and choose to access further services which could lead them to an alternative to street life.