This activity was approved in the FY 2007 COP, is funded with FY 2007 PEPFAR funds, and is included

here to provide complete information for reviewers. No FY 2008 funding is requested for this activity.

PEPFAR funds were allocated to FHI to provide technical assistance to modify and strengthen a specific

FHI capacity building tool know as the Organizational Performance Capacity Assessment Tool (OPCAT) for

use by other PEPFAR partners to strengthen their organizational capacity. The PEPFAR Taskforce has

sourced a similar tool and technical assistance from a local South African institution and plans to continue

with this activity using the local institution. This will allow the intervention be locally owned and sustainable.

Therefore there is no need to continue funding this activity with FY 2008 COP funds.

SUMMARY:

Family Health International (FHI) will continue to support the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference

(SACBC) and its sub-recipients (SRs) in orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) program design,

implementation and direct OVC service provision through ongoing training, mentoring and support. FHI will

continue to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system through quality assurance and

improvement procedures and regular data verification checks. The emphasis areas for this program are

local organization capacity building and gender. The primary target populations are OVC and caregivers.

BACKGROUND:

FHI, together with SACBC, began implementing the Track 1 FABRIC program across 11 sites in South

Africa in February 2006. In FY 2008, the SRs will reach OVC and their families with psychosocial,

educational, nutritional, and economic support, health care, palliative care, legal support, pediatric treatment

referrals and child protection services. The program will seek formal partnerships with SACBC's home and

community-based care program and other partners to strengthen the integration of home and community-

based care so as to ensure that OVC and family members receive comprehensive care and to scale up

pediatric treatment for children. The program will integrate age-appropriate HIV prevention messages in its

key activities and will use the FHI Family Life Education curriculum to train youth and adults in reproductive

health and HIV prevention from a Christian perspective. The major components of this program are: 1)

capacity building in OVC program design and implementation; 2) collaboration and coordination with

government and other services/programs for the provision of quality care and support to OVC; 3) effective

M&E; and 4) gender mainstreaming. These activities are directly aligned to the South Africa Department of

Social Development (DOSD) strategic priorities for OVC in its national plan of action for OVC for 2006 to

2008. Strategy one seeks to strengthen the capacity of families to provide essential care and support for

OVC. Strategy two seeks to mobilize communities to care for OVC. The remaining DOSD strategies focus

on creating an enabling environment in terms of policy, legislation, advocacy and coordination. FABRIC will

ensure that at least 50% of all OVC served receive 3 or more services, per the South Africa PEPFAR

guidance.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

ACTIVITY 1: Capacity building

FHI will provide further technical assistance to SACBC to strengthen their organizational capacity to support

SRs using capacity assessment and improvement tools and quality assurance checklists. Both FHI and

SACBC will continue to provide assistance in project and financial management and OVC technical areas to

SRs to improve the quality of their OVC programs. This support will include training and ongoing

supervision and mentoring. FHI will ensure that SACBC together with each SR have clear sustainability

plans and will provide training and links to other providers for the establishment of creative income-

generating activities (IGAs) to support OVC and their families. Public-private partnerships will be

encouraged at the local level, for example soliciting support from local businesses such as bakeries.

ACTIVITY 2: Collaboration and coordination

In line with the DOSD policy framework for OVC, FHI and SACBC will jointly boost networks developed with

government and with other USG partners. FHI and SACBC will work closely with DOSD through forums

such as the National Action Committee for Children Affected by AIDS (NACCA) and the provincial and

district committees to strengthen networks and linkages to improve care and support for OVC and also to

link caregivers to other government programs. FHI will ensure that strong referral systems are in place at

local level for the provision of essential services such as health care, educational support, food security and

nutrition and legal assistance. FHI will continue to support community mobilization and coordination. SRs

will be encouraged to liaise with community leaders and community members to target the most vulnerable,

identify local resources and develop linkages with other services. In FY 2008, FHI will continue to

emphasize pediatric treatment. SRs will be supported in conducting mapping exercises to identify the

nearest treatment sites for pediatric referrals. SRs will be trained in basic pediatric HIV testing, treatment

and care in order to provide essential information and support for pediatric treatment to OVC and their

families. All referrals will be tracked closely to ensure the referral service has been provided and the

feedback form has been completed and returned to the SR by the referral site. Age-appropriate prevention

messages and life skills programs will be integrated into the after-school care program.

ACTIVITY 3: M&E

FHI will strengthen technical skills around M&E for SACBC and the SRs through ongoing training and

mentoring. FHI will participate and provide ongoing comments in the development of the national DOSD

M&E system and will ensure that the indicators required for the national database are included and

collected by the SRs. FHI and SACBC will implement information verification procedures as part of regular

site visits and will ensure that the M&E forms are translated into local languages in low-literacy areas. FHI

will pilot an OVC database in collaboration with the USG technical working group that is developing an OVC

database.

ACTIVITY 4: Mainstreaming gender

In FY 2008 gender will form an integral part of the FABRIC program's activities. FHI will ensure that girls

and boys are receiving equitable support and access to essential OVC services, especially education.

Partners will work with male groups in their dioceses to mobilize the involvement of men as caregivers.

Female child-headed households will receive special attention to ensure that the burden of care on them is

decreased and that they continue to access education and to receive adequate mentoring and support.

Communities will be mobilized to enforce OVC protection from exploitation, violence and abuse and to

mitigate against stigma and discrimination. Advocacy initiatives will also be conducted at the congregational

level to ensure that the church is supportive and promotes the same messages to address gender

inequities. FHI will link gender to sustainability efforts by improving access to training and resources for

female primary and secondary caregivers. FHI will set-up a tracking system to ensure that equitable access

to care and support is enhanced and that activities addressing gender inequities and child protection are

Activity Narrative: recorded and reported.

NEW ACTIVITIES

ACTIVITY 5: Reaching Disabled OVC

This activity will be implemented in three sites in Free State and Gauteng that have identified children with

disabilities. Special programs to support these children will be initiated in collaboration with medical

practitioners, academics and local experts in this field. The program will facilitate identification and

assessments of disabilities and will identify local resources for continued support and follow-up. Caregivers

in each site will be trained to identify and care for disabled children and to support applications for disability

grants.

ACTIVITY 6: Bicycle Project

In FY 2008, the bicycle project in collaboration with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

(ITDP) will be introduced and piloted in 3 sites where access to public transport is poor and where children

have to travel long distances to school. The bicycles will be given to older OVC living in remote areas to

assist them to reach school and to attend the after-school care activities at the selected project sites. A

feasibility assessment will be done in advance to identify opportunities and challenges of introducing this

project in the selected sites.

ACTIVITY 7: Exit strategies for older OVC

The sites will be assisted in developing exit plans for children above 15 years. This is to ensure that when

children leave the program there are plans in place for them to further their education, access vocational

training, establish income generating activities or gain employment.

ACTIVITY 8: Research

In FY 2007, FHI and SACBC submitted a concept note to the Joint Learning Initiative for Children and

HIV/AIDS (JLICA) to conduct a study on lessons learned in implementing family centered approaches to

OVC service provision. The concept note was accepted and the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation has

granted SACBC $25000 for the study upon approval of the full proposal to be submitted in October 2007.

EXPECTED RESULTS:

Improve reach (# of OVC) and coverage (# of geographic regions) in 10 sites across 7 provinces;

Strengthen the capacity of SACBC and its SRs to effectively coordinate and sustain programs at the local

level; Enhance skills and knowledge of caregivers through training in OVC technical areas; Improve the

FABRIC M&E system and align with the DOSD national system and indicators through quality assessment

and improvement; Equitable access to care and support and resources for male and female OVC; Increase

in the number of male caregivers trained and mentored to care for OVC; Establish linkages to income

generation service providers and training opportunities for SRs and families caring for OVC; and Increased

awareness and community mobilization against gender-based violence and child abuse. By the end of FY

2007 semi-annual reporting period, FABRIC had met the annual target of 7000 OVC and of these, more

than half (57%) received primary direct support (3 or more services).

Through these OVC activities, FHI will assist PEPFAR to achieve its goal of caring for 10 million people,

including OVC.