School-Based Programmes as a New Form of the Family for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in the Province of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

South Africa has seen a rapid increase in HIV prevalence among the general population over the past ten years, from less than 1 percent in 1990 to 20 percent in 2001. As the HIV/AIDS epidemic increases, so do the number of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). In 2002, an estimated five million people were living with HIV/AIDS. Because of the average 10-year period between infection and death, even if HIV prevalence declined rapidly, South Africa would still experience an increasing orphan burden for many years to come. By 2010, 16 percent of all children in South Africa will be orphans with more than 70 percent due to AIDS. The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund initiated the Goelama Project, which uses a community mobilization strategy to catalyze action by local organizations and government bodies to prevent HIV infection and mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of the disease, particularly as they affect OVC. This brief highlights key findings from a study of 29,000 members of nearly 5,000 households in eight study sites to identify ways that government and communities can strengthen the socioeconomic capacity of households to care for and support OVC.

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Psycho-educational and social interventions provided for orphans and vulnerable children at a community-based organisation in Soweto, South Africa

African Journal of AIDS Research ◽

10.2989/16085906.2018.1548359 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Emily Chepngetich Sitienei ◽

Jace Pillay

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Community Based ◽

Vulnerable Children ◽

Orphans And Vulnerable Children ◽

Social Interventions

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Impact evaluation of scripted lesson plans for HIV-related content in a life orientation curriculum: results from two provinces in South Africa

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-09640-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ilene S. Speizer ◽

Mahua Mandal ◽

Khou Xiong ◽

Ndinda Makina ◽

Aiko Hattori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Young People ◽

Hiv Prevention ◽

Longitudinal Data ◽

Condom Use ◽

Genital Herpes ◽

Life Orientation ◽

School Based ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

And Control

Abstract Background Young people under age 25 years are a key population at risk of unintended pregnancies, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. School-based programming, focusing on youth under 17 years is strategic given that many in this age group are in school or are required to be in school and spend a considerable amount of their time at school. Prior evaluations of school-based HIV prevention programs for young people often employed weak study designs or lacked biomarkers (e.g., HIV or STI testing) to inform outcomes. Methods This study used longitudinal data collected in 2016 from a cohort of grade-8 girls from Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces in South Africa. We followed them for 2 years to examine the impact of the South African Department of Basic Education’s revised scripted lesson plans for the HIV and sexual content of a “life orientation” curriculum on knowledge, attitudes, condom use behaviors, pregnancy incidence, and genital herpes incidence. Schools were randomized to intervention and control arms. Multivariable analyses were undertaken using hazard modeling for incidence-based outcomes (genital herpes and pregnancy) and generalized linear latent and mixed modeling for outcomes measured at each time period (knowledge, attitudes, and condom use). Results At end line, 105 schools were included from the two provinces (44 from Mpumalanga and 61 from KwaZulu-Natal). Fifty-five were intervention and fifty were control schools. A total of 2802 girls were surveyed at both time periods (1477 intervention and 1325 control). At baseline, participating girls were about 13.6 years; by end line, they were about 2 years older. Longitudinal data demonstrated few differences between intervention and control groups on knowledge, attitudes, condom use, genital herpes, and pregnancy experience. Monitoring data demonstrated that the program was not implemented as intended. Our results demonstrated 7% incidence of genital herpes in the two-year follow-up period indicating sexual risk-taking among our cohort. Conclusions We did not find significant effects of the revised life orientation curriculum on key outcomes; however, this may reflect poor implementation. Future HIV prevention programs for young people need to be implemented with fidelity to ensure they meet the crucial needs of the next generation. Trial Registration: This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov. The trial registration number is: NCT04205721. The trial was retrospectively registered on December 18, 2019.

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The Mediational Intervention for Sensitizing Caregivers for Community-Based Organizations to Address the Needs of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in South Africa

10.4324/9781003145899-8 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102-121

Author(s):

Carla Sharp ◽

Madeleine Allman ◽

Jan Cloete ◽

Lochner Marais

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Community Based ◽

Vulnerable Children ◽

Orphans And Vulnerable Children ◽

Community Based Organizations

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Social justice implications for educational psychologists working with orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa

School Psychology International ◽

10.1177/0143034319893005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 37-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jace Pillay

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Social Justice ◽

Educational Psychology ◽

Learning And Development ◽

Vulnerable Children ◽

Orphans And Vulnerable Children ◽

Educational Psychologists ◽

Educational Challenges ◽

The Social

The aim of this article is to discuss the social justice implications for educational psychologists working with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who comprise 3.7 million of the population in South Africa. The author begins with a global conceptualisation of social justice and then discusses the nature of social justice in South Africa. This is followed by an exploration of social justice within the discipline of educational psychology and how it would apply to the contexts of OVC, especially taking their psychosocial and educational challenges into consideration. These challenges allude to the point that educational psychologists have to be active agents of social justice who advocate for better learning and development opportunities for OVC to succeed in life. Thus, the social justice implications for educational psychologists working with OVC are discussed. In concluding, the author points out the global value of this article noting that OVC and educational psychologists are prevalent across the globe.

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