Population Council Research that makes a difference

A pioneering study led by Makerere University, Plan Uganda, and the Council's Horizons program in collaboration with the Luwero Catholic Diocese and the National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda (NACWOLA) evaluated the effectiveness of a succession planning program in Uganda aiming to reach children and their families while HIV-positive parents are still living and in a position to plan for their children’s long-term well-being.

To assess program impact, researchers conducted structured interviews with HIV-positive parents, standby guardians, and children who were and were not exposed to succession planning at baseline (1999) and two years later (2001).

Key findings include:

• Participation in succession planning increases the proportion of HIV-positive parents who appoint a guardian for their children.
• Parents exposed to succession planning were more likely to have disclosed their HIV status to their children, thus increasing discussions about the future.
• Succession planning is an effective program for HIV-positive parents but is challenging to implement.

Among other things, the baseline findings highlighted the value of prolonging the parent–child relationship, promoting adult-to-child communication, and planning ahead for the child’s future. The Hope for African Children Initiative and other groups have embraced these as fundamental values and priorities in programming for orphans and vulnerable children.

This succession-planning approach researched by Council staff is listed by UNICEF and others as one of the key principles to guide programming for orphans and vulnerable children. It is also a “Best Practice” on the UNAIDS Web site and appears in “Success Stories: HIV/AIDS” on the USAID Web site. The Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAfAIDS) is currently developing a toolkit on succession planning.