Processes of intervention

This edition of Global Future explores the nature of political will and what is required to reduce rates of under-five mortality and realise Millennium Development Goals (MDG) four (to reduce under-five mortality) and five (to improve maternal health). Authors from around the world lay out the "why, who, what and how" of the actions needed to realise these MDGs and get more countries on track quickly. At the time of publication only 16 of the 68 countries with the highest rates of child death were on track to reach MDG four

Millions of children are growing up without parents. Millions more are in households with family members sick or dying from AIDS; children in sub-Saharan Africa have been hardest hit. This report presents the latest statistics on historical, current and projected numbers of children under 18 who have been orphaned by AIDS and other causes. This edition of the biennial report underscores the changing needs of this vulnerable group as they progress through adolescence and calls for the urgent development and expansion of family and community support

This document moves towards a standard framework to help people involved in programmes conduct a situation analysis concerning orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in the context of HIV/AIDS. It includes the process of planning the situation analysis, defining its purpose, goals and objectives. It provides advice on methods to gather data and frameworks for assessing health, education and economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on OVCs. Analysis, reporting and communication of the information found is discussed

This research forms part of a broader project aimed at development and evaluation of interventions for orphaned and vulnerable children. The paper aims to provide a definitional framework and an understanding of orphans and vulnerability

The subject of World Health Day 2005 is maternal and child health. In the lead up to World Health Day on 7 April 2005, six mothers-to-be living in different countries of the world are sharing their experiences of pregnancy and childbirth. The six unique stories reflect a common theme, the central importance of child health to families, communities and societies and aim to raise awareness of the challenges faced on a global level in improving maternal and newborn health

This short paper reflects findings from research carried out to identify current responses to meet the needs of children age 0-8 living in HIV/AIDS affected communities. The overall results show that at local, national and international levels there are gaps in programming and policy to engage ideas and mobilise resources to address the needs and experiences of very young children both infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The question is then raised: What can we actually do to include very young children in programming and policy responses in HIV/AIDS affected communities? Supporting existing family and community networks and current efforts that are being made by people confronting HIV/AIDS on a daily basis are important strategies. Conclusions are drawn indicating that services are required urgently to support very young children both directly and through the families and communities in which they live. Ways of listening to and including very young children in these processes need to be developed and used. Partnerships need to be developed between parents, families, NGOs, CBOs and government to ensure the holistic development of the child. At policy levels, very young children need to be included in programmes that address children, HIV/AIDS and community development. All government ministries can participate in meeting the needs of very young children in HIV/AIDS affected communities

The document suggests how services that address young children's needs might be fully integrated into a national multisectoral HIV/AIDS programme. It gives advice on developing national ECD policies, programmes and interventions, multisectoral ECD approaches, and ways to advocate, implement, monitor and evaluate these efforts. It makes suggestions of interventions for very young children and is a resource for other national HIV/AIDS programme topics

This paper presents a summary of the global orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) situation, and current policy responses. It is meant for individuals with strategic decision making responsibilties for HIV/AIDS programmes. It firstly defines what is meant by OVC and points out that sub-Saharan Africa has the most OVCs in the world and is therefore the focus of the paper. It outlines existing policy frameworks in responding to OVC including international and national instruments. It identifies policy gaps in national responses to the OVC crisis, and proposes a country-level OVC policy package based on current thinking. The focus is on children under 18 in general, and there is no response to specific age groups

This year’s State of the World’s Mothers report shows which countries are succeeding, and which are failing, to save the lives of mothers and children. It examines how investments in health care and nutrition can make a difference for children, mothers, communities and society as a whole. It also points to proven, low-cost solutions that could save the majority of these young lives

This report complements UNICEF’s ‘State of the World’s Children 2008’. It considers progress towards the related Millennium Development Goals in the region and the main causes of child deaths. It considers health-care systems and community-based approaches to providing maternal and child health care and outlines priorities required to accelerate progress

This report has been produced by the Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health. It identifies technical interventions needed to address the problems of high rates of maternal mortality, continued child deaths due to preventable illnesses, unmet need for sexual and reproductive health services, and weak and fragile health systems. The report also asserts that policymakers must act now to change the fundamental societal dynamics that currently prevent those most in need from accessing quality health care

This note provides an introduction to how social transfers - particularly cash transfers and vouchers - can improve human development, particularly for the extreme poor and socially excluded

This paper examines the effectiveness of early intervention programmes and the growing body of evidence that they can generate permanent changes in social behaviour

This policy briefing sets out the background of the HIV pandemic and notes thats its impact has transformed childhood. Findings from a study in Botswana assessing the impact show results in areas of childcare, caring for sick children and parental time with children. Policy recommendations are made concerning the implications for the quality, quantity and nature of early childhood care and education services needed, and also for the supports that are necessary to enable parents and extended family members to care for children who are affected and infected by HIV

The Task Force for Child Survival and Development was commissioned by the Early Child Development Team of the World Bank to develop an assessment tool to help programmes address issues and needs of young families and their children. The tool kit was designed to access the needs of young children (under 8 years old) in communities heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The assessment provides information about the household, family, the main caregiver of young children, each child under 8 years of age, their basic needs (housing, food, clothing, bedding, daily activities, health, education and childcare), and unmet needs. The information from the assessment is intended to be used to design service programmes targeted to the needs of young children and their families
The needs assessment is carried out through the use of a survey of households in the area serviced by the organisation. If a survey of all households is not possible, simple random sampling or cluster survey methodology is used

This case study documents a successful model for facilitating a strong community response to HIV and AIDS. The Salvation Army Change Programme in Ndola and Choma Districts in Zambia illustrates the facilitation process stimulating an appropriate local response to HIV and AIDS and essential component of human capacity development. The model builds on local strengths and resources, stimulating ordinary people to address the barriers that prevent them from using HIV and AIDS information and services to prevent new infections, compassionately care for those who are infected and mitigate the effects of the epidemic on families and the community. Only by addressing personal risk, stigma and the potential for personal and societal change will the demand for and use of voluntary counselling and testing, prevention of mother to child transmission and antiretroviral therapy services increase

This article reports the results of a study to evaluate the effect of home-based neonatal care on birth asphyxia and to compare the effectiveness of trained traditional birth attendants and village health workers in using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, tube-mask or bag-mask interventions

This report has three purposes. First, it reviews the global and national efforts to eliminate IDD during the past two decades. And it shows how governments, the salt industry and communities, with UNICEF support, have made great progress in eliminating iodine deficiency through universal salt iodization. Second, it captures the lessons learned and best practices in the elimination of IDD in various countries. Third, it proposes an agenda against IDD as a vital step towards preventing adverse effects on international development and human potential

This report provides a brief overview of the responses of the international community and governments in rising to these challenges, the roles of the private and civil society sectors, as well as the responses of families and communities

Residential Care and Alternatives is based on child development and protection principles. Tearfund is a Christian organisation and the document makes a number of references to Christian scripture and values. It could be a useful tool for helping Christian organisations that provide, or that are considering providing, residential care to explore better care alternatives or improving the quality of residential care

These guidelines aim to assist practitioners and implementing partners to run Community Based Worker systems (CBW) more effectively, maximising impacts to clients of the service, empowering communities, empowering the CBWs themselves, and assisting governments to ensure that services are provided at scale to enhance livelihoods

This paper tries to deepen understandings of the biological and programmatic implications of the transmission of HIV through breastfeeding which have previously been hampered by insufficient study and difficulties of interpretation. It is a careful look at the findings of programmatic approaches. The project attempted to find, summarise and analyse reports on a wide variety of relevant programmes conducted since 1998 UNICEF guidelines were issued. The programmes range from small community research projects to national programmes. The compilation addresses numerous controversial topics and constraints, including human resources, confused mothers, stigma and discrimination, spillover of replacement feeding, free or subsidised infant formula, family economics and the difficulty in providing integrated HIV testing, informed choice counselling, community support, logistics and follow-up care for mothers and infants

The paper reflects on the potential of the OECD DAC creditor reporting system to systematically capture flows of official development assistance (ODA) in support of realising children’s rights

A report from a meeting for exchange and learning between organisations working with orphans and vulnerable children in India, looking community responses to working with this group. The experience of Plan International, Palmyrah Workers Development Society and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance was presented to the meeting. Specific responses to working with orphans and vulnerable children discussed in the report include lessons from a child participatory approach, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and the development of community action

This is a rare case study of a pilot project to address the specific needs of children under 5 affected by HIV/AIDS who are typically ignored at the programming level and often miss the benefits of general HIV/AIDS interventions. The project operated in Western Kenya and the study contains evidence of the work carried out, a lessons learned catalogue of the processes and tools developed, and a set of suggestions of how the tools and processes might be adapted to other groups in other contexts. It is an excellent example of a community based response to the needs of very young children and addresses the key challenges faced in attempting to do so

This country study is an analytical overview of the challenges faced by Red Solidaria (Solidarity Network). It is part of a larger research programme to look at conditional cash transfers in both Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa

This is a key report that documents community responses and coping mechanisms towards the HIV/AIDS pandemic in relation to children affected by AIDS (CABA) and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). Fostering families are under enormous strain and local initiatives at the community level have been little studied or documented, and few organisations have sought to encourage their development. The paper analyses some of these initiatives and encourages external agencies to support them through building the capacity of local responses rather than imposing external solutions