Children Orphaned & made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS A meeting to discuss and explore key policy issues in India 10 th September 2004 Dr. Balwant Singh

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.

Children Orphaned and Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS: Situation in India About children <15 years living with HIV/AIDS Every year approx 22,000 newborn children acquire HIV 2 million children < 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.

India HIV/AIDS Alliance Goal, 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

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

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 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 children’s participation To address their health, educational, psychosocial and other needs

Working with Children: Key Values Children are best cared for in their own homes and communities Children’s 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

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 Children’s 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

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 child’s development No specific policy on children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS

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

Child-Centred Policy Review In 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

Thank You