Family and Community Interventions for Children Affected by AIDS

This book discusses the effectiveness of family and community support for children affected by HIV/AIDS. The report forms part of a project funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation to implement a strategy for the care of orphans and vulnerable children in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The report identifies and defines key groups of vulnerable children and proceeds to explore the impacts that HIV/AIDS has on children, their families and communities. Subsequently, it discusses various approaches that have been adopted by community-based organisations to care for children affected by HIV/AIDS.

The reports considers:

• home-based child-centred development programmes focusing on health and nutrition;
• psychosocial care and management of inherited assets;
• interventions directed at supporting families and households to cope with the HIV/AIDS problem
• interventions directed at building the capacities of communities to provide long-term care and support for children and households

The authors argue that a multi-sectored approach, which considers sectors beyond health and education, as well as collaboration between the government, donors and non-governmental organisations, are the underlying principles for developing effective programmes to support children affected by HIV/AIDS. Among the recommendations provided, the authors discuss the impacts of building on local capacity and existing strengths through community mobilisation, assisting schools to provide psychosocial support for affected children, and supporting families and communities to care for children rather than providing services directly to children.

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