Plan International’s programming on Children and HIV and AIDS

1. Plan International’s programming on Children and HIV and AIDS Dr Simon Heap Global Research Portfolio Coordinator IATT Steering Group meeting, Washington DC, 9-10 September 2009

2. Architecture of Plan’s programme documents Programme Accountability and Learning System (PALS)

3. Plan’s New ‘Programme Package’ • Programme Framework: defines what Plan’s programme aspires to achieve, the focus of these programmes and our rights-based Child Centred Community Development (CCCD) approach • Programme Effectiveness Framework: identifies how and against what criteria we will assess our programme effectiveness at the different levels of the organisation • Programme Accountability and Learning System (PALS): supports the implementation of these frameworks at the programme country level and replaces our Corporate Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (CPME)

4. The Goal: Children and youth will realise their rights to sexual and reproductive health, including HIV prevention, care and treatment. • To pursue this goal, Plan will support quality reproductive and sexual health education and services for children and youth, as well as challenging beliefs and attitudes which maintain unequal power relations between the sexes. • Plan will advocate for more effective policies and actions to respect protect and fulfil the rights of children and youth living in a world with HIV by focusing on children rather than on the virus or on the epidemic. • This will be done by addressing the rights of children and youth to protection from HIV; the rights of children and youth to live with their family; the rights of families affected by HIV to social protection; and the rights of children affected by HIV to care and support.

5. Framework • Plan’s strategic approach for its work is set out in the framework document Creating a Climate for Innovation. • Creating a Climate for Innovation presents a useful and relevant conceptual framework. When applied to all of Plan’s HIV programming, it should significantly support activity and deliver enhanced levels of change. • This builds on the Circle of Hope framework, which was originally developed by Plan in Uganda.

6. Framework • The framework defines Plan’s relationship to duty bearers, including: • Plan’s status as a service provider of last resort • its emphasis on building the capacity of local organisations to demand resource allocations from duty bearers • its focus on influencing and supporting governments to meet these demands • advocacy and lobbying of international organisations to provide more equitable and more effective development assistance

7. Regional strategies and national programming • Regional HIV strategies have also been developed in all four Plan regions. Currently, the Asia strategy is complete and approved, while the others are under development. They respond to the UNAIDS mandate to ‘know your local epidemic’. • 8 countries have country programme outlines (CPOs) that specifically target HIV. Another 39 country programmes address the issue through health CPOs, albeit with different foci in different regions.

8. Change and rights holders (1) • Several country programmes, particularly in West Africa, are making use of the media and other communications tools to generate and disseminate messages about behaviour change. • In Burkina Faso, Plan has used community debates, village theatre, musical concerts and sports events to convey information on prevention and treatment. A partnership with local radio stations has generated 65 shows on HIV, as well as regular publicity spots covering 20 different HIV messages. • In Senegal, HIV themes are being integrated into child radio programming.

9. Change and rights holders (2) • Several country programmes note the need for economic security programmes for people living with HIV and AIDS and orphans and vulnerable children as these groups often find themselves excluded from such initiatives. • In Kenya, Plan is planning to introduce a targeted Village Savings and Loans strategy for PLWHA, as a way of mobilising community resources to support OVCs.

10. Psychosocial effects of parental loss and orphanhood on children • The findings of West Africa-led research on the psychosocial effects of parental loss and orphanhood on children. This five-nation assessment of the mental health status and psychological needs of children in high-risk contexts, and of existing services in the West Africa region, found no evidence to name HIV as the main attributing factor in the psychological needs of vulnerable children. They recommend a holistic and integrated project approach to children in difficult situations in general, rather than an HIV-specific focus.

11. Change and duty bearers: Americas • In the Americas, Plan took a proactive and, in some places, high-profile stance in working with duty bearers in the struggle against HIV. • In Guatemala, Plan was cited in a UN MDG Progress Report as a lead organisation in HIV prevention. Also, the launch of a stigma and discrimination baseline for institutions has enabled national partners to take action to reduce such discrimination within their own organisations. • In Honduras, work with key partners in one programme unit is culminating in a five-year HIV strategic plan, in which adolescents will have a central role. • In El Salvador, Plan recently participated at the Central American Ministers Council to present its model for working with adolescents on HIV prevention in the region.

12. Change and duty bearers: E and S. Africa • In Eastern and Southern Africa, much activity is focused on supporting the State in community-level service delivery, with the provision of medication as well as education about transmission prevention and the delivery of care and support services. • In Kenya, while there remains a focus on the provision of direct services to orphans and vulnerable children through the Breaking Barriers project, advocacy and empowerment activities such as radio programmes and direct lobbying of government have been introduced to eliminate the barriers that are hindering children from accessing their right to education.

13. Change and duty bearers: Asia • In Asia, work with duty bearers is generally aligned to capacity building. • in India, Plan ran training programmes with government stakeholders on the topic of trafficking and HIV prevention in Andhra Pradesh. • in Thailand Plan mobilised government resources for enhancing access to healthcare services for those living with HIV and AIDS.

14. Summary • Through the lens of the Creating a Climate for Innovation framework and the Programme Effectiveness Framework (PEF), Plan’s activity in HIV is making good progress towards the challenges set by the global pandemic, in some areas. • Although overall expenditure is not increasing, Plan’s coverage is broadening out, and programmes are adopting an increasingly integrated approach. Activity is also being scaled up to some extent.

15. The Future • 25 Country Strategic Plans for next 5 years • Advocacy: • Universal Birth Registration conference, London, 16 November 2009; • Learn Without Fear advocacy campaign [USNO – Global AIDS Alliance]; • Because I am a Girl campaign • Staffing: new Director of Programme and Campaigns, filling regional vacancies, and Global HIV adviser