Many, if not most African children are vulnerable to risks and shocks. OVC are the most critically vulnerable among them, those who, due to certain characteristics, are at a considerably higher risk that their local peers. The risks that face OVC more often than others are early death, poor health, educational deprivation, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
These slides present a rigorous framework for defining orphans and vulnerable children by family situation and OVC interest groups, as well as by household circumstances. OVC are either orphaned, separated from their parents (social orphans), live with somehow dysfunctional parents, or need special protection measurements beyond what can reasonably be expected to be provided by normal homes. OVC are mainly found within five core groups, but do not necessarily include all children who are: 1) affected by AIDS, 2) affected by war, 3) disabled, 4) live in the streets, and 5) work in the worst or most hazardous forms of child labor. The presentation suggests that definitions are used to guide responses towards OVC, particularly with respect to meeting related Millennium Development Goals.
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