Monitoring Outcomes of PEPFAR Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programs in Lesotho: ASSIST Project 2017 Survey Findings


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Author(s): Settergren, S. K., Hoohlo, N., & Rathabaneng-Hoohlo, N.

Year: 2018


Settergren, S. K., Hoohlo, N., & Rathabaneng-Hoohlo, N. (2018). Monitoring Outcomes of PEPFAR Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programs in Lesotho: ASSIST Project 2017 Survey Findings. Chapel Hill, NC, USA: MEASURE Evaluation, University of North Carolina.
Monitoring Outcomes of PEPFAR Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programs in Lesotho: ASSIST Project 2017 Survey Findings Abstract:

The HIV epidemic in Lesotho has left one-third of the children in the country vulnerable to the virus, often without parents to care for them. Recognizing the enormous need for programs and services for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has partnered with the Government of Lesotho to strengthen services for OVC and their households. PEPFAR support has focused on delivery of a comprehensive set of core interventions that include healthcare and referrals for nutrition; linkages to HIV testing, care, and treatment, including integration of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in routine household monitoring; promotion of positive parenting; economic strengthening activities for households, such as group savings and loans, cash transfers, and food subsidies; and educational support for children.

Recognizing the need to better understand the effects of its programs on the well-being of OVC, PEPFAR launched a global reporting requirement in 2014 to monitor the outcomes of selected projects in Lesotho and the other countries where it provides support for OVC. The requirement involves the collection of data for nine outcome indicators, referred to as the PEPFAR monitoring, evaluation, and reporting (MER) OVC Essential Survey Indicators (ESIs). In 2016, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Lesotho requested assistance from the USAID- and PEPFAR-funded MEASURE Evaluation project to conduct a survey that would collect the required data for the Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) Project, its largest OVC project, implemented by University Research Co. LLC in partnership with six local implementing partners. This report presents findings from the survey that MEASURE Evaluation, along with its local research partner, Nonyana Hoohlo and Associates, conducted for the ASSIST Project in September 2017.