What We Do

Increased access to Health, Safety, Education, Economic strengthening and Food security among OVCs and their households in Masaka region.

The goal of this project is ‘To increase the proportion of OVCs accessing and adhering to comprehensive HIV care services by 95% in Masaka, Kyotera, Rakai and Kalungu Districts through providing a Healthy, Stable, Schooled and Safe environment. This project targets OVCs, and their caregivers, HIV exposed infants, pregnant adolescents 12-17 years, Children with non-suppressing viral load, Children of commercial sex workers, Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) involved in transactional sex, HIV positive children, Sexually abused children, girls in school (10-14) and more specifically those at a greater risk aged 15-19, uncircumcised young men aged >10years, especially those in the sexual networks with the AGYW, HIV positive children eligible but not on ART.

We focus on a comprehensive package of child, family and community-centered approaches to reduce vulnerability and improve the welfare of OVCs. The project is implemented under the leadership of the District Community Development Officer, Sub County Development officers, the District Probation officer and VHTs.

Activities include but are not limited to: Identification of households with OVCs, assess vulnerability, link to appropriate OVC package, legal protection is provided through community-based paralegals, probation officer, child and family protection unit of the police. The CHEDRA team uses national OVC tools including OVCMIS, OVC trucker, case planning, HVAT among others, to document services that will include but not limited to: Economic strengthening, Food and Nutrition Security, Health Access & promotion, Education support to ensure completion of major levels, Child protection &legal support, building skills for income generation, financial literacy, and provision of in-kind booster grants, Sinovuyo and parenting skills, provision of psychosocial care, programs on health, water and sanitation are integrated with the child-focused community and home-based interventions.

CHEDRA data officers do data analysis and report generation for district and sub-county OVC committees as well as developing and monitoring QI interventions. The proportion of OVCs accessing and adhering to comprehensive HIV care services has increased and OVCs, as well as their caregivers, have been empowered to graduate from vulnerability.