The NACOSA OVC Community Systems Strengthening (NACOSAs OVC CSS) project will improve the wellbeing of families and their vulnerable children through comprehensive and coordinated evidence- based interventions that strengthen the capacity of families and communities to care for vulnerable children in sub districts and districts with high prevalence, high maternal mortality and a high number of OVC. This project will create an enabling environment for OVC community networks and linkages in selected districts in five provinces; provide resources and capacity building to OVC organizations for community activities and service delivery; and deliver improved packages of care to OVC and households through OVC care organizations. NACOSA has documented success in providing a package of services which include capacity building, networking, aligning to Government and municipal plans and linkages and referral for OVC service providers. The OVC CSS model has the following components; enabling environment and advocacy; community networks, linkages and partnerships; resources and capacity building of organizations; community activities and service delivery; organizational and leadership strengthening and monitoring, evaluation and learning. Activities include building community capacity by establishing, training and mentoring Child Care Forums, training care givers, supporting organizations to provide services to OVC, creating child protection forums, facilitating sub district planning and promoting technical information sharing. Activities will include improved referrals and linkages for support and access to ART treatment, sexual and reproductive health services and nutritional referrals for families caring for OVC.

The NACOSA OVC Community Systems Strengthening (NACOSAs OVC CSS) project will support 30 OVC organizations to provide an improved package of care to OVC and their households. Activities will include care worker skills building workshops to improve the quality of the services provided by caregivers and to improve their knowledge and ability to provide improved referrals and better synergies to ensure that OVC receive high quality services. NACOSA will provide training for 100 caregivers to be trained as child and youth care workers and auxiliary social workers. Linkages and synergies between services providers are important in improving services to vulnerable children. Activities will include improved pyscho social support for vulnerable households, community support groups and household circles of support. Topics covered in these groups will include HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health decision making, nutrition, ART support for adherence as well as gender discussion for improved gender dynamic in households fostering healthy gender norms. A key focus of these groups will be to engage in positive parenting skill building and address successional planning. NACOSA will use their strong links with the Department of Social Development in all five provinces to implement this program in the identified districts and sub districts. At the provincial level NACOSA participates in the provincial action committee for children affected by HIV and AIDS and will be a strong advocate for children issues. The NACOSA OVC CSS project will deliver a package of care to OVC, their caregivers, families and communities, by building the organizational and managerial capacity of 30 NGO organizations, training their caregivers to qualify as child and youth care workers or auxiliary social workers with an improved ability to deliver high quality care services to vulnerable households. Building the skills of the care workers is an integral part of this program with workshops that will allow them to support parent child communication, provide quality psychosocial support, provide bereavement counseling and be able to provide comprehensive health information and referrals for breastfeeding, PMTCT, sexual and reproductive health and HIV testing and ART adherence and support