Supplementary memorandum submitted by
the Department for International Development
FOLLOW-UP TO ORAL EVIDENCE SESSION ON 30
OCTOBER
I welcomed the opportunity of giving evidence
on HIV and AIDS this morning to the International Development
Committee. One line of questioning we agreed to follow up with
you very quickly was around our support for orphans and vulnerable
children (OVC), in particular through social protection programmes.
In the recent UK AIDS strategy a commitment
was made to spend over £200 million to support social protection
programmes over the next three years. In doing so, we said we
would work with governments and civil society in eight African
countries to develop social protection policies and programmes.
These policies and programmes will provide effective and predictable
support for the most vulnerable households, including those with
children affected by AIDS. During the course of the implementation
of the 7 year UK AIDS strategy, countries where DFID is supporting
these social protection programmes may change—mainly due
to the fact that project cycles tend to have three to five year
timeframes. However at anyone time DFID will be supporting social
protection programmes in at least eight countries. The main criteria
to determine which countries will receive this support include;
demand from the countries themselves; a niche for DFID to provide
this support; high HIV prevalence and high OVC burden.
Currently the UK's social protection response
to OVC includes bilateral support in countries such as Ethiopia,
Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe. It also includes multilateral support for example
through UNICEF for social protection programmes in South Africa,
Swaziland, Angola, Botswana and Namibia.
As we roll out social protection support we
will continue to monitor closely the impact social protection
has on OVC and their families. We are working with UNICEF and
Save the Children UK to develop a multi-country and multi-year
study to assess how cash transfers impact on different indicators
of child vulnerability (eg nutrition, education attendance). In
addition we have committed to review the evidence that social
protection is an effective means to support OVC following each
Global Partners Forum that occurs every two years.
The updated AIDS strategy "Achieving Universal
Access" has a strong focus on the needs of orphans and other
vulnerable children (OVC). The strategy recognises that social
protection, including but not limited to cash transfers, are an
effective response to the needs of OVC, but must be part of a
comprehensive system of care and support. This includes affordable
health care and education, psychosocial and broad livelihoods
support. As part of our response we have committed £200 million
for social protection programmes as an effective way to reach
OVC and their families.
The evidence for social protection, including
cash transfers to strengthen families affected by HIV and AIDS,
is both robust and compelling. A recent (2007) review of 300 documents
by the International Food Policy Research Institute, (http://www.ifpri.org/renewal/pdf/JLlCACashTransfers.pdf)
shows how social protection can be used to protect children and
families affected by HIV/AIDS. Specifically, it highlights how
cash transfers can help secure basic subsistence, reduce poverty
and protect children's access to education, health and good nutrition.
These conclusions are drawn from studies of several well-established
transfer programmes in South Africa, newer pilot programmes in
southern and eastern-Africa and studies of conditional cash transfers
in Latin America and Asia.
Other research has shown that in high HIV prevalence
countries such as in eastern and southern Africa, where up to
one in five adults are living with HIV, most children are directly
or indirectly affected by AIDS. In these situations it makes more
sense to programme more broadly for all vulnerable children not
just those affected by AIDS. Pilot cash transfer schemes from
Zambia and Malawi which use AIDS-sensitive but not AIDS-exclusive
criteria of poverty (high dependency ratios, and/or limited labour
capacity) to identify eligible households, have demonstrated that
approximately 70% of households reached with such social assistance
were households directly affected by HIV and AIDS, including OVC.
This approach has been strongly endorsed at
the recent International AIDS conference in Mexico and at the
recent Global Partners Forum on Children Affected by AIDS held
in Dublin.
I hope this is useful and is in time to help
you with your report writing.
30 October 2008
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