Targeted Evaluations of Orphan and Vulnerable Children Programs in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia

OVC Program Evaluations in Kenya and Tanzania

Analyzing the Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions to Benefit Orphans and Vulnerable Children: Evidence from Kenya and Tanzania

Thurman TR, Hutchinson P. (2009)

Community-Based Psychosocial Intervention for HIV-Affected Children and their Caregivers: Evaluation of The Salvation Army's Mama Mkubwa Program in Tanzania

Nyangara F, Obiero W, Kalungwa Z, Thurman TR. (2009)

Community Education and Sensitization as an OVC Care and Support Strategy: Evaluation of the Integrated AIDS Program-Thika in Kenya

Thurman TR, Hutchinson P, Ikamari L, Gichuhi W, Murungaru K, Nyangara F. (2009)

Promoting HIV Prevention and Testing: Evaluation of the Integrated AIDS Program-Thika in Kenya

ThurmanTR, Hutchinson P, Lavin B, Ikamari L. (2009)

The Difference Interventions for Guardians Can Make: Evaluation of the Kilifi Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project in Kenya

Thurman TR, Rice J, Ikamari L, Jarabi B, Mutuku A, Nyangara F. (2009)

Promoting a Home-Based Program Model for Supporting Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: Evaluation of Tumaini Project in Iringa Region, Tanzania

Nyangara F, Kalungwa Z, Obiero W, Thurman TR, Chapman J. (2009)

The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief provides funding to programs that supply wide-ranging services to orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and their families. While programs have a similar objective to improve OVC well-being, they may differ substantially in the types of services provided: educational support, vocational training, or other income generating skills; food aid; support groups for guardians; home visiting that includes basic psychosocial support or assistance with anti-retroviral therapy; HIV education, recreational opportunities, and individual counseling for children. In order to provide insights on the success of these various strategies, these six reports evaluate OVC programs in Kenya and Tanzania to measure program outcomes.

OVC Program Evaluation in Zambia

Evaluating the Impact of Community-Based Interventions on Schooling Outcomes among Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Lusaka, Zambia

Chatterji M, Hutchinson P, Murray N, Buek K, Mulenga Y, Ventimiglia T. (2009)

This paper evaluates the impact of a community-based program implemented by a Zambian nongovernmental agency (NGO) on educational outcomes among orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Lusaka, Zambia. These outcomes included school enrollment and being at the correct age-for-grade. The study design included two rounds of post-intervention data collection, in 2003 and 2006. There were 2,302 children, ages 6-19, interviewed in 2003; and 3,105 children or young adults, ages 8-22, interviewed in 2006. A sub-sample of 2,922 orphans and vulnerable children, ages 8-19, was used. The effectiveness of Bwafwano Community Home-Based Care Organization, an NGO working in Lusaka, was evaluated, first using the individual cross-sectional samples and then using a differences-in-differences model on the pooled sample. Both cross-sectional analyses found positive and statistically significant effects of the intervention on school enrollment, with marginal effects of 0.104 and 0.168 respectively. The differences-in-differences estimates for school enrollment were positive, but small and not statistically significant. For the estimations of the effects of Bwafwano on the outcome of appropriate age-for-grade, only the difference-in-difference models showed positive program effect, with participation in the program being associated with a 15.7 percentage point increase in appropriate age-for-grade for intervention children, relative to control children. This study suggests that the Bwafwano program is a promising approach to improving educational outcomes among orphans and vulnerable children in urban Zambia.