Mapping African Networks for Children Affected by AIDS and/or Orphans and Vulnerable Children Summary of questionnaire results April 2013

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1 Mapping African Networks for Children Affected by AIDS and/or Orphans and Vulnerable Children Summary of questionnaire results April 2013 This report presents the results of the questionnaire that was part of the STOP AIDS NOW! mapping exercise on African Networks focusing on Children Affected by AIDS and/or Orphans and Vulnerable Children. The aim of the questionnaire was to get a better understanding of what the networks have to offer, how they work with other networks and to see whether there are possibilities to link with and learn from each other and to strengthen each other s work. In total, 15 surveys have been completed. The response rate was 21%. 1. Network details The Networks that completed the questionnaire are from 12 different countries. Three respondents are from South Africa, two from Namibia, and the other respondents are from the following countries: Botswana, Côte d Ivoire, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 2. What does your network have to offer to partners in terms of products/programmes? As presented in the table below, Training and Advocacy are the most common answers (n=14; 93%), followed by Programme development/implementation (n=11; 73%) and Research (n=8; 53%). Answer Options Percent Count Training 93% 14 Advocacy 93% 14 Training manuals 40% 6 Policy publications 27% 4 Tools 47% 7 Research 53% 8 Funding 40% 6 Programme development/implementation 73% 11 Other (please specify) 6 answered question 15 Other types of expertise and services that were mentioned are: Financial management, Capacity building/strengthening, Collaboration on common issues, peer support and learning, and sharing of resources and Representation of the Children s Sector, and therefore facilitating member organisations to voice issues, at district, provincial and national level. 3. Training topics Eleven Networks explained the focus of their trainings. Six of these networks (from Botswana, South Africa, The Gambia, Uganda, and Zambia) focus (among others) on children s rights and child protection. Four networks (from Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, and Zambia) focus (among others) on psychosocial support, and two STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 1

2 networks (from Côte d Ivoire and Malawi) focus on livelihoods strengthening and economic empowerment. See Annex 1 for an overview of all training topics per network. 4. How does you network currently share expertise/products with its members and others? All networks do share expertise and products with members through at least four channels. All but one networks use their website for this purpose and 80% (n=12) do share expertise and products in trainings, network events and face-to-face. Answer Options Percent Count Website 93% 14 Newsletter 73% 11 Training 80% 12 Face-to-face 80% 12 Network events 80% 12 Media 60% 9 Presenting at conferences 73% 11 Other (please specify) 4 answered question 15 In addition to the defined answer options, the Network from Côte d Ivoire does share expertise and products through coaching, and one of the Networks from South Africa uses , an online forum built into the website, and social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube). 5. Does your network want to share its products with a wider audience than it currently does? All networks indicated they want to share their products with a wider audience than currently is being done. 6. STOP AIDS NOW! can offer further sharing through the following channels. Would you be interested in using these? All networks indicate they are interested in using the STOP AIDS NOW! channels for further sharing. The eight networks that completed the survey in a Word format, indicated to be interested in using both Newsletter and website and Interactive learning and sharing through website, e.g. online discussion forum or webinar. Of the seven networks that completed the survey through Survey Monkey, two ticked Newsletter and website and five ticked Interactive learning and sharing [ ]. It is important to mention here that online, it was only possible to tick one of the options, while in Word it was possible to tick both. It is plausible that all networks are interested in using both channels. 7. Does your network already share products/information from other organisations that are not members of your network? Thirteen networks (86.7 %) do already share products / information from other organisations, while two networks (from Côte d Ivoire and Namibia) do not. Benefits that are mentioned relate to: STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 2

3 - Sharing and learning (n=5) - More support in terms of funding / funding possibilities (n=3) - Information on current state of affairs (n=3) - Enhanced collaborations (n=2) See Annex 2 for a list of all benefits of sharing products/information from other organisations that were mentioned by the respondents. 8. Is your network willing to share interesting products/information from other organisations that are not member of your network? Fourteen networks answered this question. All of them are willing to share with other organisations that are not member of their network. 9. Does your network feel the need to be more in touch with other networks in Africa focusing on children and HIV? Twelve networks answered this question and all of them indicate they feel the need to be more in touch with other networks. Eleven respondents shared their expectations of such an exchange. The majority (n=8) expects to be able to share best practices and gain more experience. A Namibian Network, for example, indicates: Apart from growing the partnership, we would also like to get our current partners working with Children and HIV in contact with other organisations working in the same field for the exchange of ideas, best practices and build relations. Another network, from Tanzania, feels that Empowerment to [our] beneficiaries in networking and advocacy issues is a benefit of being in touch with other networks. A Network from Zambia expects to use other networks to promote the need and importance of psychosocial care and support for children and youth [ ]. See annex 3 for an overview of all answers. 10. Is your network familiar with the work of STOP AIDS NOW! on children affected by AIDS? Of the 13 Networks that answered this question, eight (61.5%) are familiar with the work of STOP AIDS NOW! on Children Affected by AIDS (CABA), while five (38.5%) are not. Respondents indicate that collaboration with STOP AIDS NOW! can build the capacity of smaller (member) organisations (n=2), provides opportunities for knowledge sharing through tools and products (n=2), provides opportunities for financial support (n=1) or simply is important as both work for vulnerable children (n=3). A South African Network indicates that there are mutual benefits: Our work overlaps in the area of HIV and AIDS infected and affected children. We represent the Children's Sector working with HIV, TB and STIs in South Africa, and therefore present a strategic opportunity for STOP AIDS to collaborate with us, and for us to learn from STOP AIDS and increase its effectiveness and reach. See annex 4 for an overview of all answers. STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 3

4 ANNEX 1 Training topics Psychosocial Support for children (Network from Namibia). Training on Monitoring and Evaluation; Guidance on OVC programming; Project Management; Proposal writing; Use of OVC National data collation tools; Community participation in OVC programming (Network from Nigeria). Child Protection; Child Rights Programming; Advocacy; Child participation (Network from Uganda). Psychosocial care, support and protection for children, youth and families; We offer a Community Based Certificate in working with Children and Youth for Psychosocial care and support (18 months course offered through distance learning); We offer a Diploma course to Teachers in Psychosocial care, support and protection for children (through University); Training of caregivers in psychosocial care and support using our various tools such as Tree of Life, Hero Book, Journey of Life, Kids clubs, Body map, mainstreaming Psychosocial care and support (PSS) in Paediatric ART, mainstreaming PSS in Home based care, Mainstreaming PSS in livelihood, Weaving hope (for Home based care), say and play, and Are we making a Difference (a community participatory monitoring tool working with children and PSS) (Network from Zambia). Generalities on HIV and AIDS; Generalities on OVC; Medical support; Food and Nutritional support; Educational support; Economic strengthening; Protection; Psychosocial support (Network from Côte d'ivoire). Capacity Building; Mentoring and Evaluation (Network from South Africa). Day Care; Management; Organisational development; Resource mobilization; Children's rights and other children's issues; Psycho-social support; Community Mobilisation (Network from Botswana). Governance planning; Monitoring and Evaluation; Human resource/people care; Child protection and wellbeing, Financial Accountability Crisis Counselling (Network from South Africa). HIV and AIDS and Children's Rights; Linkages between HIV and AIDS and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (Network from The Gambia). Best practices regarding HIV affected children including successful programmatic models; Disclosure guidelines; Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission; Sexual Reproductive health Rights; Child Protection and Safe Guarding Policy training (Network from South Africa). Psychosocial support; Organizational Capacity Building - Finance, Report writing, Proposal development Training on advocacy Economic empowerment (Network from Malawi). STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 4

5 ANNEX 2 Benefits of sharing products/information from other organisations that are not members Enhanced collaborations, more support in terms of funding, technical assistance, systems strengthening (Network from Nigeria). Our Network learns about funding possibilities, discussions and topical information through other organisations. This information is then shared with other partners (Network from Namibia). Replication of good practices tried and tested elsewhere, basis for evaluation and comparison of our work (Network from Uganda). We aim at promoting PSS for children and as such work with anyone who is interested in the children s welfare (Network from Zambia). To accomplish advocacy work for our beneficiaries: widows, orphans and vulnerable children (Network from Tanzania). Information sharing (Network from Ethiopia). We are all working together towards a certain goal. This helps us to get closer to reaching it (Networking from South Africa). The benefits are that we use the experience of others to develop our programs (Network from Botswana). Quality mark for our quality improvement system, global exposure with other networks working with children at risk, network development, network health checks (Network from South Africa). Keeping current information on children and HIV and AIDS, knowing about the availability of funding opportunities (Network from The Gambia). International, regional and national policy and practice changes, updates, or information (Network from South Africa). To replicate best practice and knowledge advancement (Network from Malawi). STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 5

6 ANNEX 3 - Expectations of exchange with other networks We expect to use the networks in Africa and beyond who work with children to promote the need and importance of psychosocial care and support for children and the youth in mitigating the impact of HIV and AIDS. Right now, there are a lot of youths who were born with HIV who are in the teens and psychosocial challenges in terms of sexuality have emerged and must be dealt with (Network from Zambia). Empowerment to our beneficiaries in networking and advocacy issues (Network from Tanzania). Best practices sharing and experience sharing (Network from Nigeria). Apart from growing the partnership, we would also like to get our current partners working with Children and HIV in contact with other organisations working in the same field for the exchange of ideas, best practices and build relations (Network from Namibia). Sharing experiences and learning from each other on best HIV interventions for children. Opportunity to network as well as to share best practices (Network from Zimbabwe). Information on child-headed households and how to support, strategies to announce the positive HIV status to a child or adolescent (Network from Côte d'ivoire). To gain more experience in areas that we are limited (Network from Botswana). Research peer exchange combined strategy (Network from South Africa). Sharing of best practices on a regular basis (Network from The Gambia). Best practice sharing for policy and practice, joint advocacy initiatives, increased strength to lobbying activities, exploring resource sharing (Network from South Africa). STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 6

7 ANNEX 4 Where do respondents see the link with STOP AIDS NOW! Our work overlaps in the area of HIV and AIDS infected and affected children. We represent the Children's Sector working with HIV, TB and STIs in South Africa, and therefore present a strategic opportunity for STOP AIDS to collaborate with us, and for us to learn from STOP AIDS NOW! and increase our effectiveness and reach (Network from South Africa). Collaboration with partner organisations can help build the capacity of smaller organisations as well as further the fight for Children in HIV and AIDS (Network from Namibia). Knowledge sharing through products, support for capacity building of our members, financial support (Network from Malawi). We are currently running SRHR programmes for young people in Southern Africa. STOP AIDS NOW! has developed products and interventions for supporting young people on HIV and SRHR. The tools ( Planning and Support Tool and Are You on the Right Track? ) help us to plan and monitor our work effectively (Network from Zimbabwe). Within the network, we have a thematic group on children affected and infected with HIV and AIDS and the work of STOP AIDS NOW! would so much complement the work (Network from Uganda). In supporting the Children Affected by AIDS and Women Living with HIV (Network from Tanzania). I am aware of STOP AIDS NOW! in general not with focus on children (Network from Zambia). Not very familiar as this is our first contact. As long as STOP AIDS NOW! works with vulnerable children, we have a lot in common (Network from Nigeria). STOP AIDS NOW! April 2013 Page 7