Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2010 2011 2012 2013

Details for Mechanism ID: 10334
Country/Region: Zambia
Year: 2012
Main Partner: Education Development Center, Inc.
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: NGO
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $3,000,000

The Orphaned and Vulnerable Children Education Support Initiative (OVC- ESI) is designed to expand and strengthen the Ministry of Educations (MOE) assistance to OVCs and the community school system that caters to these vulnerable and often rural children. OVC-ESI will work with community schools to improve management processes and stimulate academic performance and learning outcomes in reading and math while mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on the teacher and student population. OVC-ESIs policy and school-based technical interventions will have national impact as the program will support the MOE to govern the vast and growing network of community schools. Direct school-level interventions will be focused in largely rural provinces with high numbers of OVCs.OVC-ESI will provide HIV/AIDS prevention messages linked to guidance and counseling support as well as referrals to social service providers. The program will develop IEC materials and provide small grants for school-based community-led HIV/AIDS interventions. Teachers will be trained to carry out these interventions as school-based counselors and referral advocates.The program will provide scholarships to OVCs for school fees, resources and a range of academic and psychosocial support to help students successfully complete their schooling. OVC-ESI staff will be embedded in the MOE and all interventions will be monitored on a quarterly basis through reports and onsite visits to schools. By 2015, the OVC-ESI program and its key interventions will transition to MOE staff and be incorporated in the MOEs annual work plan and budget.

Funding for Care: Orphans and Vulnerable Children (HKID): $3,000,000

The OVC-ESI program, scheduled for award in FY2012, will be implemented by a comprehensive array of partners including the Ministry of Education (MOE), international and local NGOs and local community-based groups such as Parent Teacher Associations.

OVCs in Zambia tend to have minimal access to education and high dropout rates if they do enter the school system. High incidence of rural poverty exacerbates a dire situation for children living in risky and isolated situations. OVC-ESI will reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among this high risk group by getting children to school and helping to keep them there through scholarship support. Scholarships will include the provision of food, medical referrals, special guidance services and academic support. The intent is to promote a culture of care and support in both the community and in the school. OVC-ESI will also include small grants to encourage schools and local communities to better support OVCs. Small grants awarded in the past have generated significant cooperation and ownership among schools and local communities.

OVC- ESI is designed to expand and strengthen the MOEs assistance to OVCs and the community school system that caters to these vulnerable and often rural children. OVC-ESI will support the MOE to develop and strengthen policies in support of the community school system. The program will, in turn, support community schools to leverage public and private resources to improve management processes and academic standards. The program will monitor academic performance and learning outcomes in reading and math as a proxy for school quality and performance while mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on the teacher and student populations. OVC-ESIs policy and school-based technical interventions will have national impact as the program will support the MOE to govern the vast and growing network of community schools. Direct school-level interventions will be focused and concentrated in largely rural provinces with high numbers of OVCs.

In order to ensure the sustainability of this program, OVC/ESI will work with the MOE to integrate HIV/AIDS interventions for OVCs into its planning and budgeting processes.Monitoring and evaluation plans as well as additional research studies to advance the OVC/ESI approach will be developed with the awardee, the MOE and USAID/Zambia staff. OVC/ESI interventions will be carried out in collaboration with the MOE to ensure sustainability and linkages with the MOEs response to HIV/AIDS.

OVC-ESI interventions will be monitored on a quarterly basis through reports and onsite visits to the schools. An end of the year evaluation will be conducted to determine how many students were enrolled in the program, verify the selection criteria used, document the scholarship students performance in school and their progression. A mid-term and end of program evaluation will be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the HIV prevention measures and other support services provided to the students.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $3,000,000
Education $3,000,000