Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2010 2011

Details for Mechanism ID: 10563
Country/Region: Ethiopia
Year: 2010
Main Partner: Pact, Inc.
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: NGO
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $3,159,200

The PICASO mechanism has three components: PICASO OVC- providing comprehensive services to OVCs in Addis Ababa, Oromia, Amhara SNNPR and Gambella; Prevention Plus in Muslim Communities, which targets Muslim communities in six regions (Amhara, Oromia, Afar, Harari, Dire Dawa and Tigra); and HIV Prevention targeting the most at-risk populations and faith-based communities in the Gambella region.

The goal of the Partnership for Community Action to Support Orphans and Vulnerable Children (PICASO) project is to contribute to reducing the spread of HIV infection and minimizing the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS on OVC. PICASO will strengthen existing community and family structures to: (1) more effectively use internal and external resources to address the current needs of children, and (2) develop mechanisms to ensure the welfare of families, and consequently, children, long after external support has ended. The overall goal of the Prevention Plus in Muslim Communities project is to decrease HIV prevalence rates among the targeted communities. The goal of the two-year HIV Prevention in Gambella pilot project is to reduce the spread of HIV infection in Gambella regional state, particularly among adults, through the promotion of abstinence and fidelity among faith-based communities and safer sex practices among high-risk groups, including construction workers, truck and taxi drivers, boat operators, commercial sex workers, seasonal laborers, vendors and youth.

Pact is addressing four key issues through PICASO. To increase gender equity in HIV/AIDS activities and services at the NGO partner level, Pact incorporates gender issues through raising awareness of children, communities, and policy makers on how gender relations in the community affect the rights of the OVCs, such as the use resources and inheritance. The project sets up mechanisms for community supervision to protect OVCs from gender imbalances and disseminates information about legal provisions. At the grassroots level, PICASO activities are required to demonstrate gender sensitivity, both in the inclusion of females and males as key actors and participants in the project.

To address male norms and behaviors, PICASO will focus on increasing male involvement as caregivers in the home through mentoring male extended family members (such as uncles and elder brothers) and community leaders to encourage participation in OVC care activities. PICASO will enlist men to become advocates against gender violence and protectors of women's rights.

In order to increase women's access to income and productive resources, PICASO will focus on connecting care-giving women with economic strengthening activities, emphasizing both the woman's role in income generation and her role in decision-making at the household level. PICASO partners will be provided with technical training on alternate models suited to the needs of women in different contexts in order to ensure that income generating activities are sensitive to the needs and roles of caregivers within their own households and communities.

To address mobile populations, the Prevention in Gambella project will work to reduce the spread of HIV infection in Gambella regional state, particularly among mobile adults and youth, including construction workers, truck and taxi drivers, boat operators, commercial sex workers, seasonal laborers, and vendors. The project will reach 21,000 most-at-risk, mobile individuals.

PICASO seeks to improve cost efficiency over time by building the capacity of organizations so that they can effectively implement their work, investing in training so that staff and volunteers can easily increase their breadth of target reach; by procuring commodities in bulk and at the same time; by linking with referral providers who are able to provide more clinical services like VCT and ARH, or other OVC support, such as nutrition and shelter. Through this panoply of approaches and through three very different types of projects, Pact seeks to conserve and extend the impact of the valuable resources provided for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Pact undertakes all of its M&E and reporting work in a manner that will improve capacity within organizations to institutionalize and sustain prevention, care, and support monitoring and evaluation. The outcome is obtained by introducing and supporting monitoring, evaluation, and reporting systems to provide communities with efficient and effective methodologies to collect, produce, maintain, and distribute information on programmatic outputs, best practices, lessons learned, and effective outreach models. The PICASO project will train and support local NGO partners and community coordinating committees to implement basic data collection and reporting. In turn, these committees will work closely with volunteers to routinely obtain and collate information on key OVC care and support indicators for ongoing program use and inclusion in the national HMIS.

Funding for Care: Orphans and Vulnerable Children (HKID): $1,800,000

The PICASO OVC Project addresses community involvement and family participation as the vehicle through which support is given to OVCs. Much of the community involvement is demonstrated through the work of community volunteers. Care in the community will be achieved through a family-centered approach that ensures coordinated care facilitated by trained community volunteers with supportive supervision. Supervision will be conducted through community leadership structures and community-based organizations working closely with volunteers. Kebele-based community committees and idirs will identify children using their existing knowledge of families in their communities and through a detailed family needs assessment conducted by volunteers.

With the emphasis on economic strengthening as a core service, volunteers will mobilize other no- or low-cost services from within the community. Referrals will be made by the volunteers with or on behalf of families for appropriate education or healthcare services, for mobilizing food and improved nutrition through community resources, for the repair of houses or improved household materials and/or for legal and protection services. All services will be gender sensitive and age-appropriate as the specific needs of children are addressed.

Over 4,000 volunteer caregivers will receive training in community resource mobilization and, through weekly home visits to beneficiaries, coordinate the appropriate mix of services in their locality, tailored to the needs of 15-20 children (ages 0-17) covering three to five households per volunteer.

This program strategically places family-centered economic strengthening at the core and is best illustrated in the "1+6 approach". Protecting OVCs from the economic effects of HIV requires action to ensure they have access to the six essential services through strengthened economic coping capacities for the families and communities that care for them. The economic strengthening interventions seek to enhance household and community economic resources through community-based approaches with the assumption that, if household economic activities are strengthened, both household and communities will be better positioned to care for vulnerable children.

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Abstinence/Be Faithful (HVAB): $719,200

This activity comprises of two seperate entities: (a) This is a continuing activity that has been folded into the PACT Picaso mechanism. The overall goals of the project are to decrease HIV prevalence rates among the targeted Muslim communities and improve the organizational and technical capacity of partners to ensure effective and sustainable HIV/AIDS prevention programming and activities in and across Muslim communities.

The project's geographic area is Afar, Amhara, Dire Dawa, Harari, Oromia, and Tirgray and the target population is to reach a total of 400,000 individuals in Muslim communities with comprehensive HIV prevention messages. This narrative describes the activities funded under AB.

The program involves PACT providing technical assistance and training on BCC activities as well as organizational development of local partners to ensure they can continue providing quality HIV prevention programs. PACT provides grants to these local partners in order to improve the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of the programs. The local partners work closely with religious leaders and peer educators to increase knowledge and access to HIV prevention services within Muslim communities. The program works with Muslim youth ages 14 and older through youth clubs and youth centers targeting individuals with age-appropriate messages.

The program includes a comprehensive Program Monitoring Evaluation and Reporting Plan with regular monitoring and analysis. PACT will provide ongoing support to partners to ensure data quality during monitoring visits and will conduct a data quality assessment to ensure systems are in place and outlined protocols are followed. In addition to the PEPAR indicators, the program will collect data on the following: number of individuals trained to promote HIV/AIDS prevention; number of project activity sites with A,AB and C promotional services for Muslim communities; number of women involved in HIV prevention and working against gender violence; number of IEC materials developed/adapted and distributed by type; and, number of individuals referred to HIV/AIDS and health-related services. (b) SCEPS will provide technical and material support to about 500,000 (LOP) students ages seven to 18 in 500 primary schools with a focus on prevention of HIV/AIDS in school settings and communities during. In the first year of activities, the project expects to reach 150,000 students in 150 schools. The program envisions reaching most students through small group interactions. The geographic focus of the program will be national. Pact will receive a list of schools where World Learning is implementing HIV prevention activities in primary schools to ensure that there is no overlap.

PTAs will be motivated using incentive awards to actively plan, manage and monitor HIV Prevention activities in schools and communities. Program activities will address the needs of young children including out-of-school children who are vulnerable to HIV. The project will provide BCC materials (already developed under other programs), bill boards, strengthening school mini-medias, support sport and drama events, World AIDS Day celebrations, community gatherings, and life skills trainings, peer education and counseling, and referral to health services. Girls will be given special consideration and their specific personal problems in mitigating harmful traditional practices (HTP) will be followed through with great involvement from the Girls Education Advisory Committees, female teachers and well known women from the community. At least 50% of the beneficiaries will be girls.

Pact will conduct supportive supervision visits to all of the schools on a regular basis to ensure that activities are moving forward and being implemented well. They will work closely with the other PEPFAR partners who are working in schools to try and standardize approaches and messages.

Funding for Sexual Prevention: Other Sexual Prevention (HVOP): $640,000

The goal of the HIV Prevention in Gambella project is to reduce the spread of HIV infection in Gambella Regional State, particularly among adults through the promotion of safer sex practices among high risk groups, including construction workers, truck and taxi drivers, boat operators, commercial sex workers (CSWs), seasonal laborers, vendors and youth.

Strategies under this project include using faith-based organizations and religious leaders to reach their communities and congregations, as well as peer educators selected from high risk groups to reach their counterparts. This process will involve building on existing training modules and IEC material developed for other target groups and further refining those materials based on language and specific contextual issues of Gambella region. Promotion of VCT will be a central part of outreach, with PACT working closely with Johns Hopkins University and government health posts and clinics to ensure access to mobile and stationary VCT services. PACT will also ensure that all target groups are provided with information related to accessing prevention services as well as available treatment, care and support services across the region.

This project aims to build the capacity of local Ethiopian partners and communities to ensure more effective and sustainable prevention programming. Project objectives include increasing uptake of VCT services by faith-based communities and high-risk groups; improving information related to preventative services and follow-up treatment and care and support services available throughout the region; increasing condom uptake by high risk groups; and increasing risk perception of informal business operators (vendors, taxi/ truck drivers and boat operators), high-risk groups, and surrounding communities.

The project will reach 21,000 CSWs, construction workers, truck and taxi drivers, boat operators, seasonal laborers, vendors and youth, as well as 7,500 faith-based community members. The project also anticipates that taxi operators will be exposed to repeated messaging during trips.

M&E and Capacity Building Teams will provide assistance and oversight to ensure local partners understand how to monitor, report on, and evaluate their activities

Subpartners Total: $0
East Gambella Bethel Synod: NA
East Gambella Bethel Synod: NA
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus: NA
Ethiopian Muslim Development Association: NA
Forum on Street Children: NA
East Gambella Bethel Synod: NA
Integrated Service for AIDS Prevention & Support Organization: NA
Maedot Child and Women Focused NGO: NA
Mary Joy Aid Through Development: NA
Global Network of People living with HIV Positives: NA
Pact, Inc.: NA
Pact, Inc.: NA
Ratson Women Youth and Children Development Program: NA
Rohi Weddu Pastoral Women Development Organization: NA
Save your Holy Land Association: NA
Timret Le Hiwot: NA
Women Support Association: NA
Zema Setoch Lefitih: NA
Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $1,070,729
Construction/Renovation $90,008
Economic Strengthening $208,945
Education $250,734
Food and Nutrition: Commodities $167,156
Food and Nutrition: Policy, Tools, and Service Delivery $125,367
Gender: Gender Based Violence (GBV) $85,606
Human Resources for Health $59,335
Water $83,578
Key Issues Identified in Mechanism
Addressing male norms and behaviors
Increasing gender equity in HIV/AIDS activities and services
Increasing women's access to income and productive resources
Mobile Populations