Purpose Important Themes in this Guidance

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1.2 Purpose

The purpose of this guidance is to help PEPFAR country teams and implementing partners develop country operational plans COPs and design programs that support vulnerable children in their contexts, align with known best practice, and incorporate potential innovation. It seeks to aid teams in identifying and implementing appropriate, evidence-based, and cost-effective activities that will maximize improvement in the well-being of vulnerable children in the epidemic and close gaps in past programming efforts. Importantly, the guidance clearly places the OVC programming within the HIVAIDS continuum of response at the country level. This guida e, ho e e , is ot a ho to a ual fo i ple e ting specific technical activities. Those resources already exist and can be referenced for more detailed implementation guidance. Rather, this document outlines in general terms strategic, evidence-based interventions that PEPFAR OVC programs can consider implementing based on assessed context and need.

1.3 Important Themes in this Guidance

This guidance builds on past programming and guidance, with new emphasis on the key points highlighted in the box below. These points are elaborated upon and emphasized throughout the document. Key Points There is no i i u pa kage of ser i es. Program planners and implementers should ensure prioritized a d fo used i ter e tio s that address hildre s ost riti al are eeds through fa il stre gthe i g. While programs must continue to improve child outcomes, the primary strategy for achieving this is stre gthe i g pare ts a d aregi ers so the a pro ide for their hildre s asi eeds. The se e ore areas have been reinterpreted to better reflect this shift. Child-focused, family-centered interventions at the household level take precedence over handing out aterials o l to hildre ide tified as OVC. Sustainability through capacity building and transfer of program responsibility to promote country ownership are imperative and must be ala ed ith areful pla i g a d o itori g to e sure hildre s i ediate needs are also met. A young person who turns 18 while receiving OVC services should not automatically be terminated from receiving assistance. Programs should plan for appropriate transition strategies and be prepared to cover a buffer period for a seamless transition to adulthood. There is a growing evidence base for OVC programming reflected in this document. Programs should build interventions on evidence-based practice. This guidance includes summaries of the evidence for the efficacy of a range of child and family support interventions. Programs should allocate at least 10 percent of project funding to monitoring and evaluation ME to ensure that the evidence base continues to grow and to inform better practice. Experienced and specialized technical expertise is required for many types of interventions included in this guidance. Country teams and implementing partners should call upon individuals and resources with this expertise when designing programs and country strategies. 7

1.4 Summary of Priority Activities