Abstract
Background: Kogi State recognizes the necessity of meeting the needs of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) with compassionate care as a result broad range vulnerabilities faced by these children and their families. This paper therefore presents achievements and implications of care and support programme among OVC in Kogi State, Nigeria
Methods: Five civil society organizations were engaged by Kogi State Agency for the Control of AIDS under HIV/AIDS fund (HAF) II project to provide care and support services for OVC. A total of 3700 OVC were reached with this intervention and selection of participants was done using purposive sampling. Data collected using data collection and reporting tools were entered on DHIS2 platform and later exported into and analyzed using Microsoft Excel.
Results: Out of the total of 3700 OVC enrolled in this project, 114 (3.1%) were lost to follow up, 138 (3.7%) voluntary withdrawn from the project and 295 (8.0%) died. The number of household heads provided with economic support was 760. Among these, 60.9% were supported in 2015. A total of 192 children were also provided with economy strengthening services, 3367 were provided with educational access. In 2015 alone, a total of 1920 representing 51.9% of the total population were provided with nutritional support, 808 children were provided with protection services while 116 were provided shelter.
Conclusion: Programming for children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS will contribute to the achievement of an AIDS-free generation by responding to the social (including economic) and emotional consequences of the disease on children, their families, and communities that support them. Scale-up of this intervention is therefore recommended. Keyword: Orphans and vulnerable children, HAF II project, HIV, Care and support