Children Affected by HIV and AIDS Strategic Initiative: Reflections and Refinements

Article by Shalini Eragoda, Former Program Associate, International Programs

On January 1 of this year, global leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ratified by the United Nations as the overarching and guiding framework for development over the next 15 years.

Target 4.2 of the SDGs states, “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development (ECD) care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.” The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has been working in this area since the initial launch of our five-year Children Affected by HIV and AIDS Strategic Initiative in 2012.

SDG 4
Sustainable Development Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning

By investing in ECD, the Foundation’s goal is to ensure that young children between the ages of 0 to 5 realize their cognitive, social, and physical development potential in high HIV prevalence settings within Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. As the initial phase of the Foundation’s Strategic Initiative comes to a close at the end of 2016, the Foundation has engaged in a period of reflection to guide refinements to the initial strategy. A second phase will be developed based on learnings identified by the initiative’s monitoring, evaluation, and learning partner, the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), insights gathered from our grantee convening in July, staff experiences gained through visits to the field as well as grantee reporting.

This past February, the HSRC produced an evaluation report of the phase one strategy, highlighting both successes, areas for growth, as well as opportunities for refining our focus in the future. The report depicted how the Foundation has risen as an advocate and leader for children dwelling in high HIV prevalence regions of Eastern and Southern Africa by generating international interest in early childhood development interventions. Not only did the Foundation’s partners reach 415,000 children and 320,000 caregivers during the first phase, but the Foundation also created meaningful partnerships and learning networks among implementers, community groups, and policymakers focused on improving the developmental outcomes for young children affected by HIV and AIDS.
The report also described areas for improvement, such as the need for strengthening the quality of programs. Opportunities to improve quality include strengthening the mentoring of and follow-up with those trained to deliver programs. Furthermore, the HSRC articulated the need for greater emphasis on the first 1,000 days of a child when development is most rapid. In addition, the need for closer alignment of ECD interventions with government systems was identified.

The findings of the report were timely in informing the agenda of the grantee convening for the Children Affected by HIV and AIDS Strategic Initiative. The convening took place on July 13-14 in Durban, South Africa prior to the annual International AIDS Conference. With the help of the HSRC and consultant Roberto Cremonini, the convening gathered nearly 60 participants from partner organizations. Roundtable discussion topics included promoting culturally competent ECD interventions, integrating ECD into health systems, and creating regional and national networks for ECD advocacy.

During the convening, improving program quality was particularly emphasized when Dr. Linda Richter of the HSRC presented on the meaning of quality in the field. She described how partners might ensure quality by embedding mechanisms into their programs to enable course corrections. Further, during the convening, grantees discussed their visions for ECD in 2030 for young children living in high HIV prevalence communities. Grantees depicted their 2030 visions as including safe home environments for children, meaningful engagement with communities, and national multi-sectoral ECD policies. Overall, the convening was a success in bringing together partners to discuss how they can work together to advance the ECD field in this timely moment.

Following the Durban convening, the Children Affected by HIV and AIDS team, along with Foundation President Peter Laugharn, traveled to Inhambane, Mozambique to observe the work of grantee partner CARE. The Foundation supports CARE’s ECD work serving rural, underserved households and communities. In addition to ECD interventions, CARE utilizes leveraged funds to holistically address child development through nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene interventions and referrals to health services. Working alongside community-based organizations, the CARE team trains community volunteers called Masungukate on ECD. Masungukate, meaning ‘counselor in the community’ in the local language Xitswa, are identified and chosen by their villages to support vulnerable households with children under 5 years of age. In the rural district of Maxixie, the Foundation team watched as a Masungukate spoke to both a mother and father of young children during a home visit about the importance of stimulating children through play and story-telling. The home visit was interactive with parent participation, and the level of passion, engagement, and community ownership was apparent. In visiting this project, the Foundation recognized and appreciated CARE’s effort to train and mentor these volunteers so they are able to provide quality coaching and support to vulnerable families.

Children Affected by HIV - 2016 Site Visits

In developing the second phase of the Children Affected by HIV and AIDS initiative, the Foundation is striving to encapsulate the learnings, insights, and experiences of the many stakeholders invested in advancing ECD for young children in high HIV prevalence communities. By integrating the voices and local perspectives of community members, such as the Masungukate, the acumen of experienced grantee partners, and the MEL recommendations of the HSRC, the second phase of the Children Affected by HIV and AIDS strategic initiative will aim to contribute to the overall sustainable development of young children in East and Southern Africa.