Remember the Children: Global Fund Round 6 in 2006

[Guest guest]

Remember the Children: Global Fund Round 6 in 2006

The Global AIDS Alliance and its partners in the Global Action for

Children coalition are urging the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and

Malaria to focus its Round 6 grants on providing comprehensive support for

children in developing countries that bear the brunt of epidemic disease

worldwide. Specifically, GAA is calling for the Global Fund's Board of Directors

to approve disbursement of a sixth round of grants during 2006 at its upcoming

meeting in Marrakesh (December 15-16), and to focus that round on grants that

prioritize the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). As described in a

new advocacy brief, " Remember the Children: Global Fund Round 6 in 2006, "

released October 17, 2005, the Global Fund is well positioned to play a

leadership role in accelerating financial and material assistance that will

enable affected countries and communities to build the local capacity required

to support millions of orphans and vulnerable children now and in the years

ahead.

URL for an MS Word version of the advocacy brief

<http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/docs/Remember_the_Children.doc> .

URL for a PDF version of the brief

<http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/docs/Remember_the_Children.pdf> .

Context

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a staggering impact on children. To date more

than 20 million people have died from AIDS, and there are another 42 million

people living with HIV. As these numbers continue to escalate, children's lives

will be among the most profoundly impacted.

Roughly 700,000 children will become infected with HIV this year, nearly all of

them in developing countries. In addition, UNICEF estimates that 15 million

children under the age of 18 had been orphaned by the pandemic by the end of

2003. Eight out of ten AIDS orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, and over 18

million African children will have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS by the

end of this decade-out of an estimated total of 25 million AIDS orphans

worldwide.

Traditionally, most children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and other diseases

have been taken in by extended family members, but the rising number of OVC is

overwhelming this social safety net, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of

these households are often headed by elderly female caregivers who have little

or no income and thus lack the resources needed to support additional children

and provide essential food and clothing, much less school fees.

Worldwide the number of children who lack access to basic food, health care,

education, and psychosocial support is growing. And an increasing number of

children are forced to find some means of generating the income needed to ensure

their own survival at earlier and earlier ages.

According to the International Labor Organization, HIV/AIDS increases

the chances that orphaned and neglected children will be subjected to

child labor, particularly as agricultural or commercial sex workers, in order to

survive. Orphans and children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS are also more likely

to become homeless, institutionalized, or victims of sexual violence-all of

which increase their risk of HIV exposure.

A new report released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)

in June 2005 estimates that $6.3 billion is needed to provide a minimal response

to the growing OVC crisis for the period 2006-2008. A significant portion of

this urgent financing need could be programmed through the Global Fund.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

According to the Global Fund's website, disbursements in Rounds 1-3

support more than one million orphans " through medical services,

education, and community care. " But the Global Fund's " Sustaining

Performance " report states that, as of June 30, 2005, grants supported by the

Global Fund had provided 397,000 orphans with at least one form of basic

external support, including educational, social, and medical services. Based on

these conflicting reports, it remains unclear how many OVC are actually being

served through Global Fund-approved programs-and what services they are

receiving.

Moreover, Global Fund-approved grants through Round 4 have not focused on

orphans and vulnerable children. Effective Global Fund support for OVC-related

programs will be essential to building local capacity to provide comprehensive

care and support for orphans and vulnerable children, and will need to support

the " National OVC Action Plans " that are being developed in many sub-Saharan

African countries. But the Fund itself appears to have limited OVC-related

technical capability. The current Technical Review Panel (TRP) and Technical

Evaluation Reference Group (TERG) are composed of experts in health systems and

clinical and public health services related to HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria, but

have limited expertise in either community-based OVC program support or national

responses for children affected by HIV/AIDS.

Recommendations

The Global Fund has a unique opportunity to focus Round 6 in 2006 to

award grants that prioritize the needs of orphans and vulnerable

children. Such an institutional focus would require several internal and

external structural changes. First, the Global Fund would need to expand its

role within the current HIV/AIDS framework to address the growing needs of OVCs

and their caregivers, with a focus on the specific circumstances and needs of

these populations. The current focus on health systems, general education, and

treatment does not address the distinct needs of OVCs. Without adequate and

coordinated action, the rapidly growing burden of OVC threatens to slow national

and regional economic development, drastically reduce school enrollment,

exacerbate social inequality, and increase political instability.

The success of OVC programs within the Global Fund also requires

increased coordination among key partners outside the Fund. Indeed, the Global

Fund's success to date is based largely on its ability to forge partnerships

with governments, civil society, and the private sector that enhance efficiency,

accountability, and transparency.

With increased access to the Global Fund's systems and materials,

civil-society and technical partners can help ensure that OVC needs are being

appropriately addressed.

FULL REPORT AVAILABLE:

http://www.globalaidsalliance.org/Remember_the_Children.cfm