ACTION ALERT--->SIGN ON: Recommendations for a USG OVC strategy

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ACTION ALERT--ORGANIZATIONAL SIGN-ON

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

USG OVC STRATEGY

Dear Colleagues,

The Assistance for Orphans and Other

Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 (PL-109-95), introduced

by Senators Lugar (R-IN) and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in the

Senate and Representatives Henry Hyde (R-IL) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) in the

House, represents bold bipartisan action to stop the suffering of millions of

children orphaned by diseases of poverty, particularly AIDS, and made

vulnerable by poverty, conflict and other causes.

This historic legislation, for the first

time presenting a comprehensive response to the needs of orphaned and

vulnerable children in poor countries, was signed into law by President Bush on

November 8, 2005.

The OVC Act is groundbreaking in the wide

range of services and reforms it calls for, including; psychosocial support,

school feeding programs, treatment for HIV/AIDS, the elimination of school

fees, protection of inheritance rights and support for community based care

organizations.

The OVC Act requires the Administration to

develop a comprehensive strategy for meeting the needs of orphans and other

vulnerable children and establishes a Special Advisor for Orphans and

Vulnerable Children to coordinate interagency U.S. government efforts to ensure maximum impact on the ground

within 180 days.

ACTION REQUESTED

Organizations are requested to sign on the recommendations

below (and attached) that were developed through a highly consultative civil

society process over the past 2 months with over 30 OVC program and policy

experts.

The deadline for signing on is

Wednesday November 16th by 12

NOON for sign on.

If organization would like to sign on, please send an

email by the deadline to:

jad77@...

Thanks again, have a wonderful weekend!

Delaney

GAC Consultant

202-489-4391

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Recommendations for the

“Strategy of the United States on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children”

As required by PL109-95,

“Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable

Children in Developing Countries Act

of 2005”

November 11, 2005

Millions of children around the world are vulnerable

to poverty, armed conflict, displacement, trafficking, lack of educational

opportunities, and disease pandemics such as malaria, tuberculosis, and

HIV/AIDS, which are destroying the social fabric of innumerable communities and

destabilizing nations and their economies. The

combined impact of these crises is jeopardizing the

well-being of a generation of children, leaving them without intact families,

basic health care, education, and social or legal protection services.

President Bush recently signed into law PL-109-95, the

“Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Developing

Countries Act of 2005.” This legislation establishes—for the

first time—a child-centered, holistic framework for the United

States to respond comprehensively by expanding and coordinating efforts to

provide community-based care and support; expanded

educational opportunities; food security and nutrition; shelter; life and

job skills; psychosocial support; inheritance and rights protection; social

protection systems; and child health services, including treatment with lifesaving

antiretroviral drugs for HIV-infected children.

PL-109-95 requires the U.S. Government to develop a

comprehensive strategy for coordinated action to meet the needs of OVC within

180 days of the bill’s enactment on November 8, 2005. We, the undersigned organizations, urge the U.S. Government to adopt the following

recommendations as part of the required OVC strategy, and to consult

substantively with civil society in developing and implementing that strategy,

including selecting the Special Advisor for Assistance to Orphans and

Vulnerable Children. We believe adopting the recommendations set forth

here will optimize the ability of the U.S. Government to respond

comprehensively and invest significantly in mitigating the global crisis of

children.

1. OVC Special Advisor Authority—The

Special Advisor for Assistance to OVC required by PL-109-95 should be a

high-level representative of the Secretary of State who should have direct

oversight authority over all U.S. programs that involve orphans and vulnerable

children in U.S. assistance countries. The Special Advisor should

have fiduciary oversight and direct authority to

approve country-level OVC programs, including PEPFAR programs. The OVC

Special Advisor should be independent and separately housed from the Office of

the Global AIDS Coordinator (O/GAC), as the mandate of PL-109-95 encompasses

other vulnerable children, not only children orphaned and affected by HIV/AIDS.

2. Interagency Coordination—An interagency

working group on OVC should be established that includes all relevant agencies,

including but not limited to USAID and the U.S. Departments of State,

Education, Health and Human Services, Labor, Agriculture, and Treasury.

In addition, the OVC Special Advisor should coordinate U.S.

OVC programs in partnership with international

organizations, including UNICEF, UNAIDS, the World Food Programme, other

bilateral donors, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

(Global Fund). The interagency working group should establish mechanisms for

regular, systematic input from bilateral,

multilateral, and civil society organizations.

3. Adopt the “Three Ones” Principle in OVC

Initiatives—The OVC Special Advisor should facilitate the in-country implementation

of the “Three Ones” principle to meet the needs and rights of

children, i.e., one national OVC plan, one monitoring and evaluation system,

and one coordination mechanism, in order to avoid creating

parallel structures and to increase the efficiency,

breadth, and appropriateness of a comprehensive response. Implementation

must be led by National Governments and informed by a variety of sectors of the

local population, including community-based organizations.

4. Support National OVC Action Plans—The

U.S. Government (USG) should encourage the development, full financing, and

implementation of National OVC Action Plans, and expand and coordinate a

planning process in all appropriate U.S. assistance countries based on the OVC

Rapid Country Assessment, Analysis, and Action Planning (RAAAP) process

that is underway in a limited number of countries. These plans should

provide direct support to National Governments to enable them to implement and

enforce national social protection systems, including birth and death

registration. It is critical that civil society representatives are

involved in the design and governance of national strategies. The USG is

encouraged to work with the National OVC Steering

Committees to identify and scale up culturally

appropriate, community-based, and cost-effective efforts.

5. Complete Service Package—Orphans and other

vulnerable children must receive a comprehensive package of culturally

appropriate, community-based, and cost-effective services that addresses their

urgent needs and has wide geographic and demographic reach. As defined in The Framework

, essential components of such a complete package include education, livelihood

training, food, shelter, health care, safeguarding of legal rights, psychosocial

support, and HIV/AIDS prevention and care. Care and support services

should also be provided to caregivers.

6. One Set of National Core Indicators—The USG

should adopt a limited set of core indicators for program monitoring that fit

within national M & E framework systems but can be compared across USG

presence countries. These core indicators will standardize the

programmatic differences on the ground and help ensure that orphans and other

vulnerable children are receiving the support and protection they

require. Program

indicators should be developed in each country that

reflect the needs and priorities of the local community.

7. Accountability for Results—The USG should

ensure transparent and timely reporting on OVC programs. Specific

performance standards are necessary to hold USG-funded implementers accountable

for ensuring that the best possible OVC care is being provided and that dollars

are being spent in the most effective and strategic

manner. Evaluation of OVC assistance should

report on the detailed types of services provided to OVC and their caregivers,

as well as the quality and consistency of such services over time, not simply

document the number of children touched by any program.

The intention of this landmark legislation is to

respond to the broad global crisis of orphans and other vulnerable

children. Thus, funding for OVC needs to be sufficient to provide all

needed services to a beneficiary over the life of a program. The OVC

Special Advisor should serve as an internal advocate for higher levels of funding

for programs to benefit orphans and other vulnerable children. OVC funding

must be expanded from

the original 10% of HIV/AIDS appropriations indicated

in the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Act of

2003. Priority must be given to the needs of children, and funding must

be found to match the identified need, rather than allowing funding to dictate

who benefits and who gets left out.

The civil society experts in the field of orphans and

other vulnerable children who have come together to put forward their

recommendations for the implementation of PL-109-95 urge the United States

Government to take these recommendations into account when formulating its OVC

programming strategy and allocating funds for OVC programs. We, civil

society, are able and willing to engage in further discussions with USG partners

on OVC programming and practice. We look forward to progress in the

development of a comprehensive USG OVC strategy to improve the lives of

children around the world.

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U.S.-BASED ORGANIZATIONS

GLOBAL SOUTH ORGANIZATIONS