The magnitude of the challenge we face in sub-Saharan Africa can be daunting. HIV/AIDS is widespread and its reach is growing: more than 13 million children under the age of 19 have lost one or both parents to the disease, and that number is projected to rise dramatically by 2010. The rapid increase in children requiring legal protection, health care, and educational, financial, and psychosocial support is overwhelming the existing social-service systems in most African nations.
Given this dynamic, GAA has crafted an approach acknowledging that the HIV/AIDS pandemic in
sub-Saharan Africa is “a risk environment comprised of social, cultural, and economic factors, not merely an epidemiological issue.” To this end, GAA views a society’s well being and health as an outgrowth of its social and economic conditions.
Our approach addresses the long-term nature of the effects of the pandemic on orphans and other vulnerable
children—namely, the correlation between the epidemic and extreme poverty.
Our solution involves the economic strengthening of households and communities so that they can provide sustainable care and support to OVC on their own.
Our model to promote economic development
is divided into three stages:
1. Basic economic advancement Our initial goal is to provide OVC with one to three meals per day, secure
housing, and school uniforms and fees.
2. Provision of social services These services include providing OVC with access to health care, psychological
and social counseling, and legal resources.
3. Establishing market linkages At this stage, we work with cooperatives and local organizations that care for OVC to expand markets and to shift from the informal sector of the economy to the formal sector. Participants receive small-business and entrepreneurial training, and all agreements are formal and contractual.
One good example of this has been our work with a local women’s cooperative to establish a business that manufactures uniforms for students attending primary and secondary schools in Kenya. The cooperative has a contract to provide uniforms for numerous schools.
Our experience has demonstrated that the most effective programs to strengthen the economic prospects of orphans and vulnerable children are multisectoral, integrated into the community, and tailored to local conditions.
We have found that local partnerships are the cornerstone of such efforts, because this grassroots component
allows us to scale up our model quickly. What’s more, our model and approach is in the economic self-interest
of the communities we’re working with and thus acts as a motivating force for all citizens. And since the benefits accrue to the entire community and not just orphans and vulnerable children, our model strengthens the economy of each community as well as the social cohesion among its members.
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