ACTIVITY HAS BEEN REVISED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM FY 2008 COP

TITLE: Jali Watoto OVC Initiative and Anti-Stigma Campaign

NEED and COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE: Pact Tanzania currently implements two large-scale orphan and

vulnerable children (OVC) programs in Tanzania: the Jali Watoto (Kiswahili for "Caring for Children")

Initiative and the Global Fund OVC Program. Both programs seek to contribute to the Government of

Tanzania's (GOT) National Plan of Action (NCPA) for Most Vulnerable Children, and are being implemented

in collaboration with the national Department of Social Welfare (DSW). Both programs aim to reach large

numbers of OVC with services that make a difference in their lives and that meet individual and family

needs. Pact has made a significant contribution to supporting the NCPA, and has developed considerable

technical experience in administering programs for OVC, with promising results in over a third of the

country. Jali Watoto is a leading player in the current quest for quality improvement (QI).

In 2006, 930,000 children (or approximately 5% of the children in Tanzania) were considered to be most

vulnerable (NCPA). However, Jali Watoto works in regions with a much higher proportion of OVC: 16% of

children in Mara, 8.5% in Mtwara, 9.5% in Tabora, 16% in Kagera, and 19.4% in Kyela, Mbeya are

considered most vulnerable.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Jali Watoto has supported 22 districts to carry out the OVC identification process to

achieve 100% coverage in districts serviced by Jali Watoto. In addition, Jali Watoto has provided one or

more services to approximately 45,000 children in the same districts as of the end of FY 2008. Jali Watoto

also provided substantial secretariat support to the national OVC Implementing Partners Group (IPG), a

strong network that meets regularly to promote maintaining consistent standards of operation and sharing

tools, materials and lessons learned. The recent launch of the NCPA by the First Ladies of the US and

Tanzania was successfully accomplished through significant support from Jali Watoto. Jali Watoto also

supported the DSW by assisting in setting up suitable program and office facilities, including a vehicle,

internet connection, computers and other office requirements.

Jali Watoto also made significant strides in providing expanded services by selecting ten additional sub-

partners. This resulted in nearly 100% coverage in the five regions of the Jali Watoto program. Jali Watoto

also developed and established quality standards tools for use by volunteers providing services to OVC.

Nearly 1,500 volunteers have been trained and/or mentored in their role and in implementing quality

standards. Results include greater understanding of service provision needs, improved quality of services,

optimized outcomes for children, and increased recognition of Jali Watoto in implementation of quality

programs for OVC. Other USG partners routinely draw on Jali Watoto's experience and expertise. Lastly,

additional focus is being put on supporting the role of elderly caregivers by funding HelpAge International,

which works with the local NGO, SAWAKA.

Jali Watoto has demonstrated a strong presence in the effort to eradicate stigma. Up to 2,000 community,

religious, and other leaders including IPG members have been trained to address stigma in their

communities. Also, a successful "Bongo Flava" (popular Tanzanian hip-hop music) concert was organized

to address stigma affecting children. Three songs and a DVD were produced to address stigma through

popular culture. An event was also held to officially designate the First Lady of Tanzania and wife of the US

Ambassador as champions against stigma.

ACTIVITIES: Jali Watoto will continue to support districts and the GOT by providing technical support to 22

districts to back-stop, monitor, and evaluate the work of the Most Vulnerable Children's Committees

(MVCCs) and Jali Watoto partners, that are responsible for identifying OVC and addressing their needs.

Jali Watoto will build the capacity of MVCCs to coordinate quality service provision to OVC. Jali Watoto will

continue to support the DSW and act as Secretariat to the national IPG; managing the e-list, preparing

newsletters, arranging meetings, and preparing documents. IPG meetings will be replicated in districts, and

the districts will be encouraged to organize regular local IPG meetings to understand what services are

available and to plan for and incorporate the NCPA needs into their budgets. To ensure better information

sharing; Jali Watoto will support the documentation of the PEPFAR phase one program in collaboration with

other implementing partners. In FY 2009, Jali Watoto will complete the refurbishment of DSW offices,

continue to assist the DSW to roll out the NCPA through local sources of funding, and to enable districts to

develop plans and budgets for OVC in their areas. Volunteers will continue to work alongside MVCC to

build program capacity.

The program will support and closely monitor the more than 80 sub-partners with increasing levels of report

verification. Quality services will continue to be provided to families of OVC in a way that is sensitive to their

needs. Volunteers will continue regular visits, providing psychosocial support and nutritional

counseling/assessment. Jali Watoto will strengthen the support and supervision provided to volunteers

working under non-governmental and faith-based partner organizations, and ensure that the services they

provide are underpinned by good financial, governance, and management processes. Jali Watoto will also

advocate for promising volunteers within its program to be offered the opportunity to be trained as para-

social workers, leading to formal employment positions as social welfare assistants.

Jali Watoto community volunteers will focus additional attention on nutritional assessment of OVC.

Volunteers will use mid upper arm circumference tapes to determine the nutritional status of OVC. OVC

identified with faltered growth, or severely or moderately malnourished, will be referred to health clinics for

HIV pediatric testing and food supplementation. For OVC identified with an immediate need, living in a food

insecure household, Pact will provide support while linking the household to a livelihood activity.

Special and increased emphases on service delivery, sustainability, and systems strengthening, including

referral linkages, will take place in each district to ensure comprehensiveness of services. QI will be a

major focus as will economic strengthening through the Pact-funded WORTH program and support to the

district authorities to plan for and manage the OVC program. The WORTH program, which economically

empowers low-income women, will enable families to be economically independent and to function more

Activity Narrative: effectively to care for and protect their children.

Jali Watoto will foster linkages with Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission and HIV/AIDS Care and

Treatment sites to identify exposed infants so that they can be followed by the MVCCs. In addition, Jali

Watoto will link with wraparound programming, particularly the President's Malaria Initiative and the national

malaria campaign for children under five; HIV prevention to vulnerable youth and adolescents; and food and

nutrition programs in the communities. Further facilitation in district and at national levels will be achieved

through use of the IPGs. Jali Watoto will also establish model "program learning districts." These will be

used to share the approaches of the learning districts with other districts that are building their

comprehensive services.

Jali Watoto will continue to implement WORTH, built around literacy, savings-led microfinance, and

microenterprise development. WORTH groups will be drawn from the parents and caregivers of OVC and

will develop a particular focus on the care and protection of children as well as on sustaining the family

economically. Pact will leverage additional funds from private foundations (e.g., the Oak Foundation) to

implement the WORTH program with a particular focus on increasing Child Protection and businesses (e.g.,

Barrick) to strengthen local service delivery systems.

Jali Watoto will increase anti-stigma activities by widely distributing the anti-stigma songs and DVD through

the media and anti-stigma champions. Both the First Lady of Tanzania and the wife of the US Ambassador

will continue as champions against stigma, using their public appearances to speak out on this issue. Jali

Watoto will also evaluate the impact of training carried out to date on levels of stigma experienced by

children. The outcome of this will inform future activities and the use of small grants to partners.

Additionally, one district in Mtwara will pilot an anti-stigma campaign that can inform a possible national

campaign, with stepped up involvement of anti-stigma champions.

LINKAGES: The IPG provides a major forum for linkages with relevant GOT and USG departments, USG

and non-USG partners, and has resulted in greatly improved coordination, accountability, communication,

and technical aspects of service provision for OVC. Local IPGs are beginning to coordinate and facilitate

more successful communication within districts. Jali Watoto quality standards have been shared with USG,

Global Fund and other partners both locally and globally. Jali Watoto continues to link with health services

to ensure the referral of OVC needing services provided by child survival programs, malaria programs, and

TB programs. Jali Watoto will initiate linkages with pediatric AIDS programs to ensure that OVC identified

through those programs are linked with required services in the community. This will start with sub-

grantees in the areas around the Baylor Pediatric AIDS Center of Excellence in Mbeya.

M&E: Jali Watoto has financially supported full identification of OVC in all 22 districts, provided a computer

for each of its districts and trained all partner organizations and districts (over 100 participants) on entering

data into the national data management system (DMS). Pact will use the national DMS for Jali Watoto

program monitoring purposes, and ensure that sub-grantees' information about OVC identified at the local

levels feeds into the national system and is available to MVCCs at the local level for planning, decision

making, and monitoring. Pact will also support the Jali Watoto districts to strengthen their capacity in M&E

in order to conduct regular monitoring of the implementation of the NCPA for OVC in their districts. M&E

training will assist sub-grantees to monitor progress against PEPFAR indicators and to report on services

delivered. Pact will establish a small field office in the Lake Zone to support closer quality monitoring and

evaluation of the program in Mara, Kagera, and Tabora.

Pact will also continue to strengthen the ability of all implementing partners to use data effectively by

monitoring data on all children served, and monitoring continual compliance of districts in data entry. QI

strategies will be widely distributed among partner organizations through regional "lessons learned"

conferences in addition to the Jali Watoto newsletter.

SUSTAINABILITY: Pact's economic empowerment program, WORTH, will help to strengthen families caring

for OVC, which should contribute to the long-term sustainability of support to OVC. In addition, long-term

sustainability is being developed by the focus on strengthening district governments. This is occurring by

sub-grantees 1) catalyzing the work of the MVCCs, and 2) encouraging social welfare officers and

community development officers to support and monitor MVCC and NGO OVC activities in their districts.

New/Continuing Activity: Continuing Activity

Continuing Activity: 13552

Continued Associated Activity Information

Activity Activity ID USG Agency Prime Partner Mechanism Mechanism ID Mechanism Planned Funds

System ID System ID

13552 3385.08 U.S. Agency for Pact, Inc. 6547 1109.08 $5,000,000

International

Development

7783 3385.07 U.S. Agency for Pact, Inc. 4569 1109.07 Pact Associate $3,900,000

International Award

Development

3385 3385.06 U.S. Agency for Pact, Inc. 2836 1109.06 Pact Associate $2,800,000

International Award

Development

Emphasis Areas

Gender

* Increasing women's access to income and productive resources

Health-related Wraparound Programs

* Child Survival Activities

* Malaria (PMI)

* TB

Human Capacity Development

Estimated amount of funding that is planned for Human Capacity Development $1,000,000

Public Health Evaluation

Food and Nutrition: Policy, Tools, and Service Delivery

Food and Nutrition: Commodities

Estimated amount of funding that is planned for Food and Nutrition: Commodities $150,000

Economic Strengthening

Estimated amount of funding that is planned for Economic Strengthening $750,000

Education

Estimated amount of funding that is planned for Education $900,000

Water

Table 3.3.13: