Reducing the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Orphans and Vulnerable Children and Older Caregivers

FHI's OVC interventions have been developed through the building and strengthening of networks among Cambodian organisations at all levels (national, provincial, and programmatic), as part of an effort to ensure that activities are complementary and that services respond to the educational, material, nutritional, health and psychosocial needs of age-specific beneficiaries. (FHI also hopes to support these networks in advocacy work - e.g., creating OVC strategies, policies, procedures and guidelines, such as counselling and testing guidelines for young people). Through such collaboration, FHI develops and implements community mobilisation events, behaviour change communication (BCC)/information, education and communication (IEC) materials, and capacity building activities that aim to ensure that OVC have access to basic care and support.

Participatory approaches characterise project activities, and are used centrally to create a more enabling, non-discriminatory environment for OVC and affected family or community members. FHI uses child-centred strategies that build on the strengths of children and respond to their own needs. Appropriate BCC/IEC messages and materials, such as those designed to promote child rights and reduce violence, are used in advocacy and community mobilisation. For example, to raise public awareness and promote non-discrimination among local authorities and the community, HIV prevention and impact mitigation activities are held during special events such as World AIDS Day, Children's Day and the Water Festival. Structured playgroups that mix OVC with other community children are organised to promote integration and reduce stigma and discrimination. In addition, religious leaders, commune leaders, and village authorities are mobilised and supported to provide HIV/AIDS education and to speak against stigma and discrimination in their communities.

Capacity building, fostered through interpersonal channels, is another tool for supporting families and communities to find viable means to care for, protect and support OVC. For example, vocational training and income generation activities are designed to improve the household economic capacities of vulnerable families and older OVC. As part of this process, FHI has supported the creation of older people associations (OPAs) that run small income-generation activities such as rice banks and savings schemes, and that provide seeds for home gardens. The OPAs donate their income to support older people and their grandchildren. FHI and its partners also conduct life skills educational sessions for different age groups of OVC to help reduce HIV/AIDS vulnerabilities and to encourage healthy living and development. In addition, the project has worked to increase the capacity of OPAs to speak out against discrimination against older people and their families affected by HIV/AIDS.

The project collaborates with older caregivers to create IEC materials that are designed to increase their skills to take care of their own health and that of their grandchildren. Working with OPAs, FHI produced printed materials that promote the role of older caregivers and share positive coping strategies for caring for their grandchildren; a key focus of this activity has been producing educational items for older people who cannot read or see small pictures. A radio spot has been developed to promote these materials and models.

HIV/AIDS, Children.

A Help Age International (HAI) study in Cambodia found that in the economically poorest families affected by HIV/AIDS, the older caregivers take responsibility for both children and adults affected by HIV/AIDS. Few children in these families attend school, and many are malnourished and likely to live in temporary or broken shelters. The study concluded that older caregivers and their HIV/AIDS-affected children and grandchildren lack opportunities to develop sustainable livelihood strategies to meet their most basic needs.