Population Council Research that makes a difference

Abstract

OVC mapping and directory project: Prioritising the children (PDF) 
Poster presentation at 4th South African AIDS Conference: Scaling Up for Success, Durban, 2 April
Walker,Julialynne
Publication date: 2009

---

The National Action Plan for Orphans and Other Children Made Vulnerable by HIV and AIDS South Africa 2006-2008 specifically set as an objective the development and maintenance of a coordinated national database that supports the implementation of the policies, strategies, and programs through an updated database of organizations that provide services to OVC and supports links with other relevant databases of services provided by relevant government departments in order to increase the number of OVC receiving comprehensive services. The Population Council, under USAID's PEPFAR mechanism and in partnership with the Department of Social Development, was selected to do this within a two-year period. This presentation shares the experience of developing a comprehensive model utilizing four formats: Web service, hard copy, CR-ROM, and short message service, in order to ensure the broadest reach within the targeted constituency of service providers, both institutional and individual, with varying levels of capacity and access to resources. This model represents an innovative program that has acknowledged regional best practice in terms of care and support for OVC and the role of media in communicating with different audiences. It also provides a specific methodology to ensure that the directory as a tool has maximum utilization through promotion within existing networks. Partnerships with government departments and local nonprofit organizations were designed to address some of the issues of sustainability that have affected previous efforts in this area.

---