This activity complements other Ministry of Education (MEN) activities in Basic Health Care and Support (#10052), OVC (#10059), with M&E integrated across all program areas.

With Emergency Plan (EP) support, the MEN initiated a 4.5-year project (2005-2009) designed to improve HIV prevention and care for students, teachers, and other personnel of the MEN throughout Cote d'Ivoire. As part of a comprehensive multi-sectoral response consistent with the new HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan for 2006-2010 and in collaboration with relevant ministries and NGO/CBO/FBO networks, the MEN is building on FY04-06 achievements to improve the quality and coverage of HIV prevention through life-skills training for students; to promote HIV prevention among students and teachers through age-appropriate A and AB behavior change communications (BCC) to delay sexual debut, promote fidelity, partner reduction, and uptake of counseling and testing; and to address negative gender and discriminatory attitudes. Links to health and social services will be strengthened to improve access to HIV care and treatment as part of a continuum of services.

In the program area of AB prevention, education based on the life-skills approach is being integrated in national primary and secondary curricula and extended through extracurricular health clubs (Clubs de Sante), with activities such as conferences, group debates, games, theater, and sports. Adapted A and B messages also target teachers, other personnel, and parents through the life-skills program, school committees, and other activities as part of a comprehensive HIV-in-the-workplace program (further described under Other/Policy Analysis and Systems Strengthening).

With FY05 and FY06 funds, the MEN developed, validated, and began piloting and evaluating the life-skills curriculum with accompanying IEC/BCC materials for primary, junior and senior secondary schools and school health clubs in seven pilot sous-prefectures. Each sous-prefecture pilot includes 10 secondary schools with an average of 600 students per school and four primary schools with an average of 150 students per school. With FY05 funds, the curriculum targeting junior secondary school students was piloted as planned, but strikes in the schools disrupted the students' courses. In FY06, the curricula are being piloted in primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary schools. The pilots include both in-class activities and school health club peer activities. An evaluation of the life-skills curriculum materials and process is being conducted with the assistance and oversight of an independent consultant.

Despite late release of FY05 and FY06 funds and perturbations in the school system due to political instability and teacher strikes, the MEN is on track to train more than 310 teachers and 210 student leaders on the life-skills curriculum approach by March 2007. Moreover, 160 students and teachers have also been trained to become trainers as part of a new Sports for Life campaign, and 25 teachers and health-club supervisors have been trained in development and use of BCC materials. JHU/CCP will continue to provide technical assistance for all IEC/BCC and Sports for Life activities. More than 30,000 children, adolescents, youth, and teachers will be exposed to targeted A and B messages and interventions by March 2007, including 25,000 students through peer-to-peer activities as part of school health clubs and 3,840 students through life skills in the classroom. A total of 2,078 teachers are being trained through life-skills and workplace interventions.

Through all these activities, the MEN has actively developed partnerships and linkages with other ministries (responsible for health, social affairs and OVC, and HIV/AIDS coordination) as well as EP-funded NGO/CBOs such as HIV/AIDS Alliance (sub-grants to school clubs), ANADER (complementary activities in rural areas), FHI (HIV in the workplace), and JHU-CCP (IEC/BCC activities and data interpretation).

The MEN proposes to use FY07 funds for AB to build on its current activities and expand a comprehensive and sustainable education-sector program with a coherent continuum of prevention, care, and treatment services for youth in school and teachers. The MEN has prioritized expansion to national coverage, including sites in the rebel-controlled zones.

Working mainly in the emphasis areas of IEC/BCC and training, and on the key legislative issues of gender and stigma/discrimination, MEN activities in FY07 will include:

1. Develop, validate, and disseminate an Education Sector HIV/AIDS Plan (2007-2010)

that is consistent with the 2006-2010 national AIDS strategy. 2. Complete evaluations of the seven pilot sous-prefectures during the first six months of 2007. 3. At the secondary-school level, 8,400 students at 14 schools will receive classroom life-skills classroom education in AB. These pilot schools are in seven southern regions. 4. At the primary-school level, three school subjects cover the life-skills classroom program matter, and 8,400 students at 28 pilot schools will receive life-skills education in A only. These pilot schools are in seven southern regions. 5. CAFOP (Center of Training for Primary School Teachers) will train primary-school teachers in the life-skills classroom curriculum approach. This training, a new activity that is essential for long-term sustainability, will start in FY07 at four CAFOPs. Sixty training specialists will be trained, and they will provide supervised training to 600 primary-school teachers in prevention through abstinence. The teachers will finish their teaching degree from CAFOP in FY07 and begin teaching abstinence-based prevention in FY08. 6. Health clubs in the southern regions will reinforce life-skills learning and emphasize HIV/AIDS prevention activities; some of these youth will participate in palliative care programs. A total of 8,400 youth will participate in AB activities through the health clubs. 7. In addition, health clubs will reinforce life-skills learning and emphasize activities. Pilot projects will occur in three regions in the North and West, which are under the control of the Forces Nouvelles. A total of 3,600 youth will participate in AB activities through the health clubs. The activities around the cities of Bouake, Korhogo, and Man will increase national coverage from seven regions to 10. 8. To support the health clubs, the first step will be to train 100 trainers of peer educators, who will train 30 youth in each school health club. Thus nationwide 3,100 peer educators will be trained for health-club activities. 9. Modify and finalize the age-adapted curricula and IEC/BCC tools after pilot implementation and evaluation are completed. 10. Develop a national roll-out plan for integration of the life-skills curriculum in the national school curricula for primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary levels in the 2008 school year. 11. Include the Sports for Life component as part of the extracurricular life-skills activities, with technical assistance from JHU/CCP. 12. Develop materials for use nationwide in the MEN workplace. Technical assistance will be provided by JHU/CCP. 13. Produce and broadcast five radio and TV spots and 10 TV shows related to the life-skills AB approach, with the participation of students and assistance from JHU/CCP and REPMASCI (network of journalists and artists). 14. Provide financial support to 100 health clubs (10 per pilot). 15. Add an assistant project director and a chauffeur to reinforce the MEN-EP coordination team.

The MEN will continue to implement an M&E plan based on national and USG requirements and tools and will contribute to implementation of an integrated M&E system in collaboration with national and international stakeholders

This activity complements other Ministry of Education (MEN) activities in Abstinence and Be Faithful (#10045), Basic Health Care and Support (#10052), and OVC (#10059), with M&E integrated across all program areas.

The education sector in Cote d'Ivoire has been severely impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Large numbers of teachers, other staff, and enrolled adolescents continue to be HIV-infected or -affected. Young children are starting to receive HIV care and treatment on a larger scale, resulting in an aging cohort infected through mother-to-child transmission. In addition, there are many HIV-affected children living with HIV-infected family members who work for the MEN. HIV-related teacher absenteeism is a major problem undermining quality and continuity of education. Both teachers and students need better and multifaceted support to mitigate the adverse effects of HIV/AIDS. The MEN has created a national committee and an action plan to try to address this problem. Practical steps have included assistance to create support groups for teachers living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and improving access to HIV-related prevention, care, and treatment services, especially for staff based in rural areas.

With Emergency Plan support, the ministry began a large-scale HIV-in-the-workplace program in FY06. This component is part of a comprehensive response (described further in Basic Health Care and Support, OVC, and AB). The MEN's multifaceted EP-funded prevention and care project complements other education-sector projects supported by UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, and other partners.

The collaborative spirit of the MEN project team has produced effective collaborations with ministries responsible for AIDS coordination and health and social services, as well as with EP-funded partners (FHI, HIV/AIDS Alliance, EGPAF, ANADER, and REPMASCI) and other donors and partners. These collaborations provide an effective platform to address the HIV-related needs of students and staff in the education sector.

With FY06 funds and technical assistance from the Private Sector Partnership Project (Abt Associates and FHI), the MEN has leveraged its expertise and capacity to match HIV-related prevention, care, and treatment needs in the public-education-sector workplace.

With Condoms and Other Prevention funding in FY07, the MEN will continue FY06 activities to establish the HIV-in-the-workplace program for teachers in seven sites and will expand these activities to three new sites in the North and West (Korhogo, Man, and Bouake). The project will provide support to at least 500 HIV-infected or -affected teachers, their families, and their communities. Services will include counseling on comprehensive ABC prevention, peer support, and links to social and health services. Activities will be designed to assist teachers in confronting HIV in their own lives and families and in becoming effective role models and "change agents" for their students and communities. Issues of gender, culture, and power relations will be addressed in the training, with other topics including teacher-student sex and intergenerational sex. The training materials will build on the integration of the MEN's life-skills curricula (described in the AB section) and include videos, skits, and MEN documents. These activities will be performed in the workplace, in collaboration with FHI (HIV in the workplace), ANADER (rural populations), and QUITUS (an NGO of teachers living with HIV).

The project will facilitate ARV treatment, prescriptions, and support groups for HIV-positive staff and students with technical assistance from ACONDA-VS and the national care and treatment program (PNPEC).

FY07 activities are designed to complement EP-funded projects targeting underserved populations (ANADER in rural areas and CARE International in Forces Nouvelles-controlled northern and western regions) and will receive technical assistance from PSP (through Abt Associates and FHI). Technical assistance for HIV-related policy development and institutional capacity building will be provided to 107 organizations (QUITUS and 106 health clubs and health school organizations), with training for 1,060 people (10 from each of the 106 health clubs/health school organizations).

Working mainly in the emphasis areas of development of network/linkages/referral systems, local organizational capacity development, and training, and on the key

legislative issues of gender and stigma/discrimination, the MEN in FY07 will:

1. Support the task force created in FY06 to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate an adapted HIV-in-the-workplace program. MEN documents concerning gender, culture, teacher-student sex, and intergenerational sex will be formalized and distributed to the staff. 2. Train 210 teachers as "community change agents" through links established with the EP-funded ANADER project targeting rural communities. 3. Train 21 doctors (14 doctors from seven school health centers and seven doctors from MEN) in providing ART services and diagnosing and treating STIs. 4. Recognize, promote, and reward cognizance and display of gender-friendly, stigma-reducing, and low-risk behaviors among MEN staff members, including uptake of HIV counseling and testing and support to HIV-positive colleagues. 5. Improve links to comprehensive services for HIV-infected and -affected personnel, their families, and their communities, including to counseling on prevention, peer support, and comprehensive social and health services (both private and public providers). 6. Reinforce the capacity of the MEN's medical and psychosocial care center at Abidjan/Yopougon. The center functions with MEN medical staff and psychosocial personnel, with teachers living with HIV/AIDS (from QUITUS) as counselors.

The MEN will continue to implement an M&E plan based on national and USG requirements and tools and will contribute to implementation of an integrated M&E system in collaboration with national and international stakeholders.

This activity complements other Ministry of Education (MEN) activities in AB (#10045) and OVC (#10059), with M&E integrated across all program areas.

The MEN has launched a 4.5-year project (2005-2009) with Emergency Plan (EP) support that is designed to improve HIV prevention and palliative care for students, teachers, and other personnel from the MEN throughout Cote d'Ivoire. As part of a comprehensive multisectoral response consistent with the new HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan 2006-2010 and in collaboration with relevant ministries and NGO/CBO/FBO networks, the MEN is building on FY04-06 achievements to improve the quality and coverage of HIV prevention and care services; to strengthen links to HIV treatment and other health, social, and education services; and to address negative gender and discriminatory attitudes conducive to HIV infection.

The MEN's multifaceted EP-funded program includes life-skills curriculums with age-appropriate A and B prevention messages for youth in the classroom and school health clubs, OVC services, and an HIV-in-the-workplace program for teachers and staff, all piloted in seven sous-prefectures in FY06 and to be continued and expanded to three more sous-prefectures in FY07. In the program area of Basic Health Care and Support, the MEN is building on its achievements to address the health-care needs of HIV-infected and -affected students and teachers with comprehensive, family-based care in coordination with the Ministry of Health's PMTCT and HIV treatment programs. The MEN advocates a holistic approach to palliative care (PC) and seeks to provide a complete and integrated package of quality services that includes prevention (CT, PMTCT, secondary sexual prevention); adult, child, and family care (ART provision, OI prevention and treatment, and promotion of "positive living"); and psychosocial support and a continuum of care through links with QUITUS (an NGO of teachers living with HIV/AIDS), the MEN's health service (SSSU), other ministries, and community organizations. MEN's approach relies on linking the clinical palliative care provided by its medical staff to the home-based palliative care provided by QUITUS members and AB peer educators from student health clubs.

HIV-related teacher absenteeism is a major problem undermining quality and continuity of education. Both teachers and students need better support to mitigate the adverse effects of HIV/AIDS. The MEN has created a national committee and an action plan to address this problem. Practical steps have included assistance to create psychosocial support groups for teachers living with or affected by HIV/AIDS and improved access to HIV-related prevention, care, and treatment services, especially for staff based in rural areas. The MEN works extensively with its sub-partner QUITUS, which provides advocacy to mobilize resources, fight stigma and discrimination, and offer peer support in the workplace to staff and family members while creating functional referral links to social, spiritual, and health services. QUITUS has more than 500 HIV-affected members (including teachers' families).

Activities will be coordinated with the national HIV/AIDS care and treatment program (PNPEC). The collaborative spirit of the MEN project team has produced effective work with the ministries responsible for AIDS coordination, health, and social services as well as EP-funded partners FHI, HIV/AIDS Alliance, EGPAF, ANADER, and REPMASCI, and other donors and partners. The MEN's EP-funded prevention and care project complements other education-sector projects supported by UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, and other partners.

With FY06 palliative-care funds, the MEN:

1. Trained 40 QUITUS peer counselors/educators to provide peer support to HIV-infected and -affected teachers, staff, and students. 2. Provided comprehensive PC services to more than 500 HIV-affected people. 3. Supported the establishment with QUITUS of seven support groups. 4. Implemented an HIV-in-the-workplace program with teachers as "community change agents," with technical assistance from PSP and EGPAF. 5. Referred 500 students to health-care services and community organizations for PLWHA, with support from EP partner ACONDA.

Working mainly in the emphasis areas of development of network/linkages/referral systems and training, and on the key legislative issues of gender and stigma/discrimination, MEN activities in FY07 will provide 1,250 people with palliative-care

services and train 40 people in clinic-based PC and 150 in home-based PC.

FY07 palliative-care activities will include: 1. Providing refresher training in ARV prescription and follow-up for 20 doctors of the MEN's medical service (SSSU) in the seven pilot sites in the South and three new pilot sites in the North. 2. Training 20 doctors and 20 nurses in clinic-based PC, psychosocial counseling, and services for sero-discordant couples while linking the PLWHA to QUITIS and the AB peer educators. 3. Training 100 peer educators (from the MEN's AB program) and 50 QUITUS members in home-based PC, psychosocial counseling, and services for discordant couples. 4. Training 20 doctors of the SSSU in syndromic STI care. 5. Ensuring STI care and STI kits by the SSSU in the 10 pilot sites. 6. Providing peer support to HIV-infected and -affected teachers and staff through QUITUS while supporting the training and retention of at least 70 QUITUS peer counselors/teachers. Support for HIV-infected and -affected teachers and their families and communities will be enhanced through the MEN's complementary HIV-in-the-workplace program at all pilot sites. 7. Organizing peer educators from the MEN's AB program to serve as key facilitators linking HIV-positive students to health-care services and community organizations for PLWHA. More than 750 students are expected to be referred in FY07. 8. Supporting self-nominated QUITUS teachers who will reveal their status as part of educational and stigma-reduction outreach efforts in the media (TV, radio, and print) as well as through roundtables and conferences. 9. Promoting gender equity in the MEN HIV program by making sure that female teachers and female QUITUS members play leadership roles. The program will address barriers to care faced by women and the disproportionate HIV-care burden on women and girls by encouraging greater responsibility and participation of men. 10. Supporting the establishment through QUITUS of support groups for PLWHA throughout the country. These groups will also conduct activities to fight stigma and discrimination. 11. Strengthening a system for referrals for pregnant women (students, teachers, staff, family members) to the health system by peer educators, QUITUS, and MEN's medical staff. This activity will be complemented by efforts to prevent non-desired teenage pregnancies through ABC prevention messages and to promote health-seeking behavior by linking women to PMTCT services. 12. Strengthening linkages with HIV counseling and testing activities in the MEN's program and reinforcing the technical capacities of the MEN's health staff. CT and PMTCT referrals will be integrated in the medical sites where basic clinical PC is provided. 13. Assisting implementation of a public awareness campaign about palliative care. JHU/CCP will provide technical assistance to develop BCC materials and tools.

The MEN will continue to implement an M&E plan based on national and USG requirements and tools and will contribute to implementation of an integrated M&E system in collaboration with national and international stakeholders.

This activity complements other Ministry of Education (MEN) activities in AB (#10045) and Basic Health Care and Support (#10052), with M&E integrated across all program areas.

With Emergency Plan (EP) support, the MEN has launched a 4.5-year project (2005-2009) designed to improve HIV prevention and care for students, teachers, and other personnel of the MEN throughout Cote d'Ivoire. As part of a comprehensive multisectoral response consistent with the new HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan for 2006-2010 and in collaboration with relevant ministries and NGO/CBO/FBO networks, the MEN is building on FY04-06 achievements to improve the quality and coverage of HIV prevention and care services, including services for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC); to strengthen links to HIV treatment and other health, social, and education services; and to address negative gender and discriminatory attitudes conducive to HIV infection.

The MEN's multifaceted EP-funded program includes life-skills curriculums with age-appropriate A and B prevention messages for youth in the classroom and school health clubs, OVC and palliative-care services, and an HIV-in-the-workplace program for MEN teachers and staff, all piloted in seven sous-prefectures in FY06. In the program area of OVC, the MEN is building on FY05-06 achievements to provide educational, psychosocial, nutritional, and economic support for OVC and their families, with strengthened links to HIV prevention, care, and treatment and other health and social services. With FY07 funds, these activities will be continued and expanded to three more sous-prefectures in the North and West (Bouake, Korhogo, Man).

OVC activities are designed within the framework of the national OVC policy and implemented in collaboration with the National OVC Program (PNOEV) in the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs (MFAS), the Ministry for the Fight Against AIDS (MLS), and partners such as the HIV/AIDS Alliance, ANADER, REPMASCI, CARE International, and FHI. OVC beneficiaries are identified from lists supplied by the PNOEV, which is charged with coordinating all OVC activities in the country. A census of their social, medical, and school needs has been conducted at the MEN pilot sites. In FY06, at least 7,231 OVC were provided with services that included a reduction of school fees (private schools) or a scholarship (public schools) and a waiver of exam fees.

Continuing priorities in FY07 will include establishing or reinforcing school-based feeding centers and creating a national framework for OVC nutritional access. School cafeteria services are limited to primary education; the question of how to meet the nutritional needs of OVC in secondary school remains unanswered. Anecdotal evidence suggests that entry into secondary school can be a particularly vulnerable time for girls who move from rural to urban schools, often with economic and social disruptions that may leave them vulnerable to transactional or intergenerational sex. In cooperation with the National School Cafeterias Program (SNCS), the MEN will work to increase capacity of school cafeterias at primary schools and to extend these services to the secondary level. Wraparound collaboration with the WFP for the provision of food and UNICEF in the provision of school kits will be pursued. Nutritional aid will be complemented by support for agricultural income-generating activities in conjunction with the school cafeterias, in partnership with ANADER, a rural development agency and EP partner.

School kits (consisting of textbooks, notebooks, and writing tools) will be distributed free to OVC in primary and secondary schools, in coordination with those provided in primary schools by UNICEF. OVC will pay reduced or no school and exam fees.

To reduce the vulnerability of OVC, social workers and NGO/CBO/FBO workers will visit the children's host families at least once a month to provide psychosocial support, evaluate the family's situation, and monitor classroom performance for potential problems. Since community participation in OVC support is essential, the MEN will lead public awareness campaigns nationally and in communities, with day-long community-education events to address OVC-related issues and to reduce discrimination and stigmatization. Special attention will be paid to educating social workers, community leaders, and community groups about OVC girls' vulnerability to transactional and intergenerational sex, gender-based violence, and exploitation.

The MEN has prioritized national scale-up and is working with the PNOEV, UNICEF, and EP partner CARE International to lead the extension of education, health, and social services

to regions in the North and West controlled by the Forces Nouvelles. MEN's EP-funded activities will be extended to the areas around Bouaké, Korhogo, and Man in FY07.

Working mainly in the emphasis areas of community mobilization/participation, development of network/linkages/referral systems, and training, and on the key legislative issues of gender, stigma/discrimination, and wraparounds, activities in FY07 will provide OVC services to at least 18,231 children and train at least 200 people to provide OVC services.

Specific OVC activities planned with FY07 funding include:

1. Identify at least 5,000 more OVC clients at the MEN's first seven pilot sites, bringing the number of OVC receiving services to at least 12,231. 2. Identify at least 6,000 OVC at the three new sites. 3. Acquire and distribute 18,231 school kits to OVC. 4. Subsidize access to school cafeterias for 18,231 OVC in primary and secondary schools. 5. Support the creation of 100 new primary and secondary school cafeterias at the 10 pilot sites, using existing infrastructure. Dedicated sites will be necessary, with kitchen access, utensils, and cooking equipment. 6. Support access of OVC to health care at the MEN's health-care service and Ministry of Health clinics at the 10 pilot sites. 7. Organize visits to the homes of at least 18,231 OVC. 8. Support the creation of micro-enterprise activities in conjunction with the cafeterias.

The MEN will continue to implement an M&E plan based on national and USG requirements and tools and will contribute to implementation of an integrated M&E system in collaboration with national and international stakeholders. Quarterly meetings of the OVC supervisory team, including relevant ministries and key stakeholders, will rotate among pilot sites to enhance monitoring and evaluation of the sites.

The Ministry of Education (MEN) provides educational, psychosocial, nutritional, and economic support for OVC and their families, with strengthened links to HIV prevention, care, and treatment and other health and social services. These activities will be continued and expanded to three more sous-prefectures in the North and West (Bouake, Korhogo, Man). In cooperation with the National School Cafeterias Program (SNCS), the MEN will work to increase capacity of school cafeterias at primary schools and to extend these services to the secondary level to reach in-school OVC. Wraparound collaboration with the WFP for the provision of food and UNICEF in the provision of school kits will be pursued. Plus-up funding will provide a more realistic basis for meeting FY07 target of providing services to 18,231 OVC and strengthening educational support for OVC in the North and West and in San Pedro.