Serving Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Mozambique and Namibia: Partnerships to Strengthen Micro Credit and Health Education

Objective

To describe partnerships and longitudinal outcomes of Project HOPE's five-year program combining health education, economic strengthening, and community partnerships for families caring for 75,000 OVC.

Methods

To provide comprehensive services, Project HOPE sought partners who could complement our health education and income generation activities with housing, education opportunities, health, and civil rights. Community volunteers were trained to provide nutrition education and psycho-social support. Project HOPE also provides micro-credit and training in OVC care and support to other organizations.

Results

To date, 4,441 caregivers and 448 volunteers have been trained in OVC care and support, 25,071 OVC have been served, and 11,253 OVC have participated in the micro-credit loan program. Results of our baseline survey confirmed that OVC are lacking in basic needs that could be alleviated with increased income and linkages to existing services; one year follow up data in 124 households in Namibia will be presented.

Conclusions

The main impact of partnerships is the ability to better meet the needs of OVC in Mozambique and Namibia. Challenges remain, including assuring continued coverage of services and the logistical challenges of ensuring each child is served in all six domains. Early evidence of improvement in domains of housing quality, assets, health, and nutrition are encouraging. By strengthening the economic capacity of the women caring for OVC, teaching the knowledge and skills needed to care for OVC, and facilitating partnerships, Project HOPE is helping families cope in a sustainable manner by providing the means for families to help themselves.