Children Orphaned

1
Children Orphaned made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

• A meeting to discuss and explore key policy
  issues in India
• 10th September 2004
• Dr. Balwant Singh

2
Purpose of Meeting

• To outline the national policy review being
  undertaken by Alliance India and MAMTA
• To map the policy priorities and initiatives of
  key stakeholders
• To identify areas for further policy work and
  ways of strengthening collaboration.

3
Children Orphaned and Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS
Situation in India

• About 200 000 children lt15 years living with
  HIV/AIDS
• Every year approx 22,000 newborn children acquire
  HIV
• 2 million children lt 15 years have lost their
  parents to AIDS
• One third of children born to women living with
  HIV become infected - with ARVs, the risk of
  transmission can be halved
• Sources UNAIDS, UNICEF and USAID, Children on
  the Brink,
• 2002 2004 Human Rights Watch, Future Forsaken,
  2004.

4
India HIV/AIDS AllianceGoal, Purpose Outcomes

• Goal reduced spread of HIV and impacts of AIDS
  mitigated

Purpose Increased community action for-and
access to prevention, care and impact
mitigation efforts
Outcome 1 Improved coverage of effective
community focused AIDS efforts
Outcome 2 Strengthened leadership and capacity
of civil society to respond to AIDS
Outcome 3 Improved institutional,
organisational and policy environment for
community AIDS responses
5
Our Network of Partners
MAMTA 4 Districts in Delhi 7 Implementing NGOs
Alliance India Andhra Pradesh LEPRA India 14
districts, 24 NGOs
Vasavya Mahila Mandali 9 Districts in Andhra
Pradesh 10 Implementing NGOs
Palmyrah Workers Development Society 13 Districts
in Tamil Nadu 20 Implementing NGOs
6
Programmes of Alliance India

• Home and Community based care support
• More than 27,000 children and families affected
  by HIV/AIDS
• More than 1800 families being supported by
  various income generation activities
• Focused prevention programme
• Covers approx. 22000 female sex workers, 10,000
  MSM and 460,000 clients of sex workers
• Also focuses on IDU PLHA
• Child-centred programme
• To promote child rights and childrens
  participation
• To address their health, educational,
  psychosocial and other needs

7
Working with Children Key Values

• Children are best cared for in their own homes
  and communities
• Childrens rights should be respected and upheld,
  especially the right to participation
• Children have emotional needs as well as physical
  needs
• Respect, recognise and realise the rights of
  children

8
Child-Centred Programme

• Improve coverage of community efforts
• 117 children fostered by communities
• 76 children clubs for recreational activities
• Handful rice approach adopted by several
  communities
• Strengthen leadership and capacities
• Childrens working groups to build leadership
  qualities
• Child-to-child approaches to make programme more
  child friendly
• Improve policy environment
• Review of national policies on children and
  HIV/AIDS

9
Policy Context Background

• The national policy on children stresses role of
  the state in providing adequate services to
  children to ensure development
• translating these into implementation is
  still a challenge
• National charter for children secures child
  rights
• no mention of HIV/AIDS and mitigating the
  impact on a childs development
• No specific policy on children orphaned and made
  vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

10
Strategies and Recommendations to Consider

• Prolong the lives of parents by building the
  capacity of families
• Support community based responses to provide long
  term assistance
• Protect vulnerable children through improved
  policy and legislation
• Care and protection of children in the NACP III
• NACO to provide greater leadership to states on
  preventing and addressing discrimination
• Source Children on the brink 2004 and
• Future forsaken-human rights watch 2004

11
Child-Centred Policy ReviewIn collaboration with
MAMTA

• Purpose
• To identify the gaps in policies that deny
  children affected by
• HIV/AIDS the right to adequate support
• Process
• To review, analyze and assess the existence and
  nature of child
• related policies relating to HIV/AIDS
• Outcome
• To propose recommendations for policy dialogue
  and action at
• the state and national levels

12

• Thank You