The Academy for Educational Development through the Education Decentralization Support Activity works with the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MoEST) to strengthen the decentralization process at the district and school level with clear policies and procedures. The program works in all districts (Blantyre City, Mulanje, Mangochi, Dowa, Dedza, Nkhata Bay), one district in each education division, to implement the MoEST decentralization policies, strategies and guidelines through three components.

? Component 1: Strengthened MoEST policy and strategy articulation, interpretation and implementation ? Component 2: Improved decentralization implementation, planning and data utilization for informed decision-making ? Component 3: Enhanced role and participation of communities in monitoring education service delivery

The AED districts were chosen using the criteria of low education efficiency (e.g. high pupil-teacher ratio, high dropout rate, and low girls enrollment) and social (limited literacy, high OVC burden and ultra-poverty

level) indicators. At the request of District Education Offices,

AED works in some of Malawi's most disadvantaged zones which in addition to poor education and social indicators, are often difficult to access and have few, if any, external interventions. Over the life of the activity, AED anticipates working in approximately 39 zones in the six districts. There are 352 education zones in the country.

AED is a longstanding partner of the Education Sector at USAID and provides integrated services and improves efficiencies for service delivery to OVC. This is a continuing mechanism to mitigate the economic and psychosocial effects of HIV and AIDS and improve the quality of life for PLHIV, OVC and other affected individuals and households (Partnership Framework (PF) Goal 3).

AED PEPFAR activities are integrated into the broader education support, which is part of the Education Sector Implementation Plan 2009-2013, to promote synergistic efforts and maximize primary and secondary school OVCs benefits from the larger Education activities. PEPFAR funding to AED will support interventions to improve the enrolment, retention and performance of OVCs in primary and secondary schools through a three-fold focus: 1) disbursement and monitoring of OVC grants for bursary, care, support and treatment grants, 2) building capacity of Teachers Living Positively (T'LIPO) to monitor grants and to form therapy groups for pre-ART management, and 3) operationalizing the national education HIV strategy and guidelines through school and district education planning processes.

PEPFAR OVC activities are implemented through existing government systems, where possible, and harmonized with existing processes and framework. The disbursement of OVC bursaries follows the Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development (MOGCCD) guidelines. At the district level a committee comprising the District Education Manager, District Director of Finance, District Social Welfare Officer, District Education Network Representative and District T'LIPO Representative supports this process. Unlike the GFATM bursaries, EDSA OVC bursaries will be wired directly to school bank accounts and will benefit from the management and oversight processes and structures that support broader EDSA school improvement activities. Wiring bursaries will ensure swifter distribution (so children are not sent away from school for late payment of fees), and increased transparency in bursary management.

The OVC grant process follows the draft Government of Malawi Minimum Service Standards for Quality Improvement: Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programs. Strategies to ensure the OVC grants are implemented properly include:

? Advocacy and Awareness Creation: AED will properly inform the public about the education support

scheme through the Assemblies to create public awareness and understanding. ? Community Participation: The major aspect of AED education support scheme is to involve the community in the identification, screening and recommending for the provision of support to most vulnerable OVC. ? Multi-Sectoral Coordination and Collaboration: To reduce duplication of efforts and promote linkages among stakeholders, AED shall work with District social welfare officers, NGO partners and networks of stakeholders providing education support to needy children.

OVC identification and grant activities are integrated into MoEST school improvement plans and district education plans to align the mechanism with the Partnership Framework and government process and support development of cost-efficiencies and sustainability over time. The AED approach makes certain HIV issues in the learning environment are addressed and builds on efforts to increase district and school capacity to manage and report OVC bursary activities and recipients.

AED's broader system strengthening efforts, which are expected to improve education planning, management, monitoring and quality at the district and sub-district levels are expected to reduce management and transaction costs over the life of the project and could support expansion of OVC grant activities with low marginal costs. Lessons learned will be integrated into the national school improvement planning and district education planning processes. AED will reach 10,000 OVC over the life of the project in over 250 schools in the first year, and an anticipated 400 schools in the second year of project. AED uses the Government of Malawi OVC selection criteria, and the focus is on ensuring that the most vulnerable learners identified in year 1 and subsequently in year 2 are funded for the life of the activity.

In addition to school grant activities, AED also works with district officials (Social Welfare Officers, Community Development Officers, HIV focal points, etc.) to build the capacity of district Teachers Living Positively Organization (TLIPO) networks. This capacity-building focus aims to strengthen T'LIPO skills to register OVC in collaboration with community child protection workers, and assist in managing and monitoring of the disbursement of OVC grants. It will also assist in building the skills of teachers to help young HIV positive learners cope with their health condition.

As part of this focus area, AED will conduct formative research on the quality of life for OVCs, in particular HIV positive students, in the learning environment. A phenomenological strategy will be the underlying premise used to measure this qualitative indicator. This approach utilizes meaning questions to elicit the essence of individuals' experiences and will employ a personal experience/ biographical data collection method to understand the needs of HIV positive students and how the OVC bursaries and care, support and treatment vouchers that provide transport funds for HIV positive children to access ART are meeting or not meeting their needs. Information from the study will enable EDSA create a more enabling school

environment for HIV positive children

Indicators to monitor these activities will include indicator C1.1.D Number of eligible adults and children provided with a minimum of one care service; C5.4.D Number of eligible children provided with education/and or vocational training; and C5.9.N Quality of life for OVC, and number of households that receive impact mitigation support (Country level indicator).

Budget Summary PFIP Year 1 Funding - $750,000 PFIP Year 2 Funding - $500,000

$750,000 - Year 1 $500,000 - Year 2

Activity 1: Provide OVC bursaries, care, and support and treatment grants.

Bursaries will cover school contributions, such as development fees, examination fees, and stationery. Based on the EDSA bursary package, 5,500 students will be targeted in primary and community day

secondary schools (CDSS) in EDSA districts in Year 1, and 8700 students in Year 2. HIV+ students in the target group will also receive care, support and treatment support such as transport funds to enable them access ART in clinics. Lessons learned channeled into system refinement for country-wide spread. Indicators: C1.1.D; C5.1.D; C5.4.D; C5.9.N.

Activity 2: Build T'LIPO capacity to administer and monitor grants. Teachers Living Positively (T'LIPO) is a civil society network of organizations of HIV+ teachers who implement programs supporting HIV+ teachers and students. The project will leverage and strengthen district-based T'LIPOs to work with school OVC committees to support the performance of HIV+/OVC children in school. Coverage: Six districts. One expected outcome of T'LIPO Capacity Strengthening activity is reducing stigma among HIV+ teachers and students. Integration of HIV content into the school improvement planning process and HIV Policy Support are expected to support Health Systems Strengthening. Indicators: custom indicator used.

Activity 3: Formative research

AED will conduct formative research to better understand the issues of HIV positive children, and well being of OVC in schools. Project will assess the impact of HIV on HIV+/OVC learners at school and in the home, including better understanding stigma and discrimination facing this population and other challenges that limit OVC/HIV+ students' opportunity to learn. Assessment will be implemented in six districts. Indicator: C5.9.N

Activity 4: Support the integration of the MoEST HIV Strategy and Guidelines into decentralization and community participation policies. Coverage: countrywide. Enhance data collection at the decentralized levels to ensure relevant HIV activities are incorporated into District Education Plans. Coverage: Six districts trial systems and policies; lessons learned channeled into system refinement for country-wide spread. Indicators: custom indicator used. With PFIP year 2 funding, we expect to continuing implementing the activities 1, 2 and 4