NOTE: This funding may be divided among two or more partners, depending on results of the FOA competition.

A new implementing partner (IP) will conduct a project entitled, "Strengthening of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services among orphans and vulnerable children, youth, parents, and community leaders in Côte d'Ivoire." The IP will implement a parent-focused intervention, "Families Matter," with complementary youth focused prevention activities for children of ages 10 14 and 15 19 years old. This activity will also have a particular emphasis on addressing girls' vulnerability, and gender norms surrounding intergenerational and transactional relationships. Community-based youth activities will serve to strengthen the "Families Matter" intervention by creating a solid foundation for youth targeted prevention strategies. The IP will also provide sub-grants and technical assistance to strengthen organizations that provide support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and their families, ensuring linkages to care and treatment as well as access to other social services.

"Families Matter" is an evidence-based intervention designed to promote positive parenting and effective parent-child communication about sexuality, delaying sexual debut, decision-making, and sexual risk reduction for children ages 9-12 years old. The "Families Matter" intervention recognizes that many parents and guardians may need support to effectively convey values and expectations about sexual behavior and communicate important information about HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI), and pregnancy prevention. It is designed to give parents and caregivers specific information and build their confidence in speaking to their children about how to reduce risk. As parents and caregivers are in a unique position to influence the lives of their children, especially those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, they can play a critical role in providing primary prevention messages through a family-centered approach, reinforcing prevention messages that they may already hear in school, at church, or from health care providers. As a result, these tools will aim to enhance protective parenting practices, overcome communication barriers, and promote parent-child discussions about sexuality. By fostering responsible sexual decision-making skills at an early age, youth will be empowered to adopt healthy lifestyles and reduce their risk of exposure.

Community-based youth activities will address HIV prevention, more specifically: myths and facts about HIV, HIV-related stigma reduction, delay in sexual debut, and risks associated with intergenerational and transactional sexual relations. The IP will use French versions of the "Families Matter" tools and will implement the program activities adhering to the core strategies of the intervention design as one component of a comprehensive prevention strategy for youth. The IP will also utilize the Côte d'Ivoire National Abstinence Training Manual as well as other evidence-based materials to train and mobilize peer educators, community leaders, coaches, mentors, and others to address HIV prevention, with a particular focus on reducing female vulnerability.

The IP will also provide sub-grants and technical assistance to build the organizational and technical capacities of local CBO/FBOs to implement activities in their geographic coverage area. These activities will include behavior change communication (BCC), reproductive health education, and other appropriate evidence-based HIV prevention interventions. Comprehensive care and support services will be provided to OVC and their families, with improved links to HIV treatment, general medical care, and social services. In doing so, the IP will collaborate with the social center OVC platforms in their zones of intervention to minimize gaps and ensure harmonization of services. Priority geographic regions consist of those with the highest prevalence, such as the south and east; however, additional activities to ensure broader geographic coverage to the southwest, central, and northwest of the country will be implemented as funds permit. These sub-grants will be closely followed through monitoring and evaluation as well as supervision visits, in which there will be a progressive transfer of capacity for those CBO/FBOs which demonstrate superior managerial and technical abilities. Improvements in service quality over time, and the development and implementation of a sustainability plan will be influential in assessing organizational capacity.

The IP will work to build community involvement and strengthen local capacity to implement and monitor evidence-based HIV prevention interventions, including improving awareness, risk reduction, mobilization for HIV testing, and use of HIV care and treatment through a strong referral network to complementary services. The IP will participate in relevant national technical, coordination, and quality-assurance committees and in national processes to develop standardized approaches, plans, and tools for building organizational and human capacity.

Monitoring and evaluation of all interventions, including baseline and impact assessments, will be essential in measuring the success of these activities. Baseline data collection and analysis will better inform targeted service delivery and appropriate information systems. Surveillance will be designed to measure coverage, reach, and comprehension of mass media messaging. Periodic KAPB surveys will serve to review program activities and adjust them accordingly. The IP will ensure data availability and dissemination for policy and planning for youth prevention, parental engagement in HIV prevention, and OVC care and support interventions.

The IP will work in close collaboration with local social center OVC platforms to coordinate services. Other stakeholders such as government ministries, Global Fund, the World Bank, and PEPFAR implementing partners will be involved in ensuring the harmonization and linkage to services at district, regional, and national levels.

NOTE: This funding may be divided among two or more partners, depending on results of the FOA competition.

In FY10, a new implementing partner (IP) will conduct a project entitled, "Strengthening of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services among orphans and vulnerable children, youth, parents, and community leaders in Côte d'Ivoire." Community-based youth activities will serve to strengthen the "Families Matter" intervention by creating a solid foundation for youth targeted prevention strategies. The IP will also provide sub-grants and technical assistance to strengthen organizations that provide support to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and their families, ensuring linkages to care and treatment as well as access to other social services.

The IP will work to build the organizational and technical capacities of local CBO/FBOs to implement activities in their geographic coverage area. These activities will include behavior change communication (BCC), reproductive health education, and other appropriate evidence-based HIV prevention interventions. Comprehensive care and support services will be provided to OVC and their families, with improved links to HIV treatment, general medical care, and social services. In doing so, the IP will collaborate with the social center OVC platforms in their zones of intervention to minimize gaps and ensure harmonization of services. Priority geographic regions consist of those with the highest prevalence, such as the south and east; however, additional activities to ensure broader geographic coverage to the southwest, central, and northwest of the country will be implemented as funds permit.

The IP will implement the following key activities in FY10:

Support a range of family-focused care and support activities for OVC and their families, including linkages with testing and treatment sites, participation in local referral networks through OVC coordination platforms, referrals to psychosocial support groups, provision of home-based care, cotrimoxazole, impregnated bed nets prioritizing pregnant women and children under the age of 5, nutrition assessment and counseling, food support in the case of malnutrition, hygiene education, support for discordant couples within families of OVC, and other direct services in the areas of education, training, housing, legal services, socioeconomic support, and nutrition

Train providers/caregivers in caring for OVC (at least 600 individuals trained by the end of year 5)

Develop and implement appropriate economic strengthening and nutritional support interventions (such as income generating activities, vocational training, savings and loan groups, etc.) for OVC and their families based on situational analyses using validated, evidence-based approaches

Collaborate with local social center OVC platforms, government ministries, Global Fund, the World Bank, and PEPFAR implementing partners to coordinate strategies, ensure harmonization, and create linkages to district, regional, and national level OVC services

Participate in national processes of validating OVC identification and assessment tools (i.e., child status index) to maximize program reach

Sub-grantees will be closely followed through monitoring and evaluation as well as supervision visits, in which there will be a progressive transfer of capacity for those CBO/FBOs which demonstrate superior managerial and technical abilities. Improvements in service quality over time, and the development and implementation of a sustainability plan will be influential in assessing organizational capacity.

Monitoring and evaluation of all interventions, including baseline and impact assessments, will be essential in measuring the success of these activities. Baseline data collection and analysis will better inform targeted service delivery and appropriate information systems. Surveillance will be designed to measure coverage, reach, and quality of services.

NOTE: This funding may be divided among two or more partners, depending on results of the FOA competition.

In FY10, the new implementing partner (IP) will conduct a project entitled, "Strengthening of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services among orphans and vulnerable children, youth, parents, and community leaders in Côte d'Ivoire." The IP will implement a parent-focused intervention, "Families Matter," with complementary youth focused prevention activities for children of ages 10 14 and 15 19 years old.

"Families Matter" is an evidence-based intervention designed to promote positive parenting and effective parent-child communication about sexuality, delaying sexual debut, decision-making, and sexual risk reduction for children ages 9-12 years old. It is designed to give parents and caregivers specific information and build their confidence in speaking to their children about how to reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV, other STIs, or becoming pregnant. This activity will also have a particular emphasis on addressing girls' vulnerability, and gender norms surrounding intergenerational and transactional relationships.

Community-based youth activities addressing HIV prevention will be implemented in FY10. More specifically, the IP will conduct the following activities:

Implement interventions addressing myths and facts about HIV, HIV-related stigma reduction, delay in sexual debut, and risks associated with intergenerational and transactional sexual relations

Collaborate with local radio stations and networks, listening groups, and other community-based activities involving key spokespeople (such as health-care providers, teachers, and religious, traditional, youth, and community leaders) to conduct community AB behavior change communication, with an emphasis on female involvement

Conduct individual and small group interventions focused on HIV prevention through abstinence and being faithful (reaching at least 100,000 individuals over 5 years)

Conduct individual and small group interventions focused on HIV prevention through abstinence and delay of sexual debut (reaching at least 50,000 individuals over 5 years)

Train community health workers, social workers, and counselors in AB interventions (600 trained over 5 years)

Implement "Families Matter" interventions using French version tools, adhering to the core strategies of the intervention design as one component of a comprehensive prevention strategy for youth

Utilize the Côte d'Ivoire National Abstinence Training Manual as well as other evidence-based materials to train and mobilize peer educators, community leaders, coaches, mentors, and others to address HIV prevention, with a particular focus on reducing female vulnerability

Monitoring and evaluation of all interventions, including baseline and impact assessments, will be essential in measuring the success of these activities. Surveillance will be designed to measure coverage, reach, and comprehension of mass media messaging. Periodic KAPB surveys will serve to review program activities and adjust them accordingly. The IP will ensure data availability and dissemination for policy and planning for youth prevention and parental engagement in HIV prevention.