2nd National Conference on Orphans and Other ... - FHI 360

First Ladies of Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Benin
and Senegal attended the closing session.
First Ladies made a strong call for:
stronger partnerships;
more sharing of information;
a greater emphasis on satisfying children’s
basic needs; and
bringing national legislation in line with
the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Commentary: The presence of the First Ladies
underscored the importance of the conference,
but all senior government officials were there,
including ministers, permanent secretaries and
director-generals, and we also had very senior
representation from the religious communities
and children themselves – as you have here.
SLIDE 3: WORKSHOP GOAL
To build the capacity and commitment of
governments, civil society and other partners
in 24 WCAR countries to fulfil the specific
commitments made by each country at the
UNGASS goals on OVC.
SLIDES 4-5: SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Use session as catalyst for setting up multisectoral
OVC task teams in each country.
Provide mechanism for collating and sharing
information on OVC challenges.
Determine current level of response in the
WCAR – what each country is doing and
how it is working.
Promote understanding among task teams
of dynamics of OVC challenges.
Regional and global actors to consider
mechanisms and strengthen advocacy at all
levels.
Mobilise responses to and resources for OVC
among governments, donors, civil society
and media – financial, technical, time etc.
Challenges of effective going-to-scale with
OVC programming – not just in terms of
numbers but in terms of quality.
SLIDE 6: PROCESS AND OUTPUTS
Process:
Setting up of country-specific multi-sectoral
OVC Task Team before the workshop.
Complete assignment of collating country
information on OVC.
Outputs:
Development of action plan by every
country delegation.
Inventory of action and resources needed at
all levels to support country action plans.
Commentary: About four months prior to the
workshop each country was asked to form a task
team of 4-6 members to gather, collate and
present country information on OVC at the
workshop, and then to come up with an action
plan in the light of the findings in their respective
countries and go back and implement the plan.
SLIDES 7-8: KEY ISSUES ADDRESSED
BY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
(The keynote speakers included the First Ladies
and the UN Special Representative on HIV/AIDS,
Mr Stephen Lewis.)
In a number of countries in the next few
years, 20-40% of the child population will
be orphans.
How do you plan and budget for this? How
do you fashion social and economic policy?
It is noted that the extended family is still
the best source of care for orphans, but it is
stressed and overwhelmed, and how do we
reinforce what exists, stabilise it, strengthen
and sustain it?
Good progress in addressing prevention,
treatment and care.
But our greatest weakness lies in dealing with
OVC.
Every country in Africa save one has ratified
the CRC.
CRC demands that primary education be free
and universal; we need a continent-wide
campaign to abolish school fees.
Civil society, including CBOs, NGOs and
FBOs, are part of the fabric of state – key
partners.
Still face challenge of getting resources right
down to community level.
Commentary: It will be important to anchor
our discussions here to some of the key issues
addressed in West Africa. For example, with
regard to planning and budgeting, the impor-
48 <strong>2nd</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> on Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children – Windhoek, Namibia, 25-27 June 2002: Full Report