Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Details for Mechanism ID: 4523
Country/Region: Tanzania
Year: 2007
Main Partner: Catholic Relief Services
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: FBO
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $187,000

Funding for Care: Orphans and Vulnerable Children (HKID): $187,000

This activity also relates to activities in Tb/HIV (#7693), and Treatment (#7692 and #7694).

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) works closely with other members of National Implementing Partner Group implementing partners to support the roll out of the Tanzanian National Plan Of Action for Most Vulnerable Children (MVC). This activity is performed with Track 1.0 funding. CRS provides funds to and works through partner dioceses to support orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS. The CRS OVC program is to support local partners in the provision of quality care and support services to OVC. CRS will build on its current achievement of supporting 7,000 OVC and increase that support to a total of 8,500 OVC by September 2007, with a goal of 10,000 OVC by September 2008. With COP07 funds, CRS should reach approximately 9,000 OVC

With FY 2007 funds, CRS will continue to provide interventions in the areas of education and vocational training, economic strengthening, food and nutritional support, access to health care services and psychosocial support programs, including life skills education through the Stepping Stones training methodology. Other interventions include: HIV/AIDS prevention; coordination of referrals and linkage of OVC living with HIV and AIDS to care and treatment programs; advocacy of child rights and protection; and housing renovation and rental assistance to child-headed households.

CRS will maintain the existing community-based, nationally approved, OVC identification and enrollment system. The standard core package of care and support services, including the provision of school materials and uniforms needed for children to attend primary school, and school fees for students attending secondary and vocational schools, will be provided according to specific individual needs as determined through community support coordinating mechanisms, in particular the Most Vulnerable Children's Committee (MVCC). A continuum of care and support will be provided to OVC living with HIV and AIDS to be healthy and self-sustaining. Integrating the delivery of services to OVC through ongoing home-based care (HBC) programs at the community level will increase their access to counseling and testing, anti-retroviral treatment, and nutritional services

To enhance capacity building, CRS will continue to provide training and supportive supervision to its partners, MVCCs, small Christian communities, community volunteers, Village Multisectoral AIDS Committees and Ward Multisectoral AIDS Committees. CRS will also work to strengthen its coordination agenda with the Council Multisectoral AIDS Committees and the District Social Welfare Officer and HBC Coordinator.

To further strengthen the financial capacity of local communities to provide OVC care and support services, CRS has introduced a Community Savings and Internal Lending (SILC) program for self-help groups to help them address their credit needs by using the resources of the community, rather than external inputs. The CRS activity has identified four additional wrap-around opportunities for linking with existing programs with FY 2007 funding.

The first wrap-around program is a linkage with the existing Seed for Survival-funded DAI PESA Agro-enterprise program to achieve higher economic strengthening objectives in Songea Rural and Namtumbo districts. Strengthened partner capacity will, in turn, allow them to expand existing income generating activities to OVC/MVC and their families. The other wrap-around components will be initiated in Njombe. OVC services will be linked with the nutrition component of the Tunajali activity involving Heifer International, a dairy program that provides goats to OVC guardians and child-headed households. Peace Corps volunteers will also strengthen services through community mobilization and data collection and project monitoring. Lastly, the integrated Home Based Care program to Care and Treatment Centers (CTC) in the district hospitals in Njombe, will assure better coordination, referral and linkage of OVC living with HIV and AIDS to the general continuum care and treatment services. Related to this, CRS partners will work with teachers, guardians, and communities to sensitize them and raise awareness on the available services for AIDS-affected communities, including orphans and vulnerable children. CRS partners will also assist in setting up referral mechanisms for children to benefit from the services offered by these health facilities.

As with all USG-funded implementing partners, CRS will support the implementation of the

national Data Management System (DMS), and will use that system for their own Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system. They will ensure that information about those MVC/OVC identified at the local level feeds into the national system, but also that it is available to MVCCs at the local level for planning, decision- making, and monitoring.