About > Our Contribution to the Dialogue
Assisting and protecting children affected by AIDS is far from simple. Translating good intentions into good outcomes can be fiendishly challenging.
— Alex de Waal, Co-Chair, Social and Economic Policies Learning Group
Moving Forward
Stakeholders and partners are taking up our evidence-based arguments on integrating AIDS-specific services with broader social protection policies, to more effectively meet children's needs. The logic of family-centred approaches to children's wellbeing in the context of the epidemic now appears irrefutable. Donors and implementers increasingly acknowledge the imperative to incorpoate community voices into programme design, decision-making and evaluation. Support is growing for country-led, context-specific policy solutions that are AIDS-sensitive, not AIDS-targeted. JLICA did not invent any of these ideas, but JLICA's evidence and advocacy have lent them new momentum.
It is our hope now that stakeholders and partners, as adovcates, opinion leaders, and practioners, will continue to build on what JLICA has achieved and use JLICA evidence to promite country-specific learning and implementation.
Our key recommendations
JLICA's final report is addressed primarily to national policy-makers in heavily-burdened countries and to their advisors. It also speaks to international donors, agencies concerned with children and AIDS, international and national non-governmental organizations, and civil society groups. Key recommendations are:
- Harness social protection for vulnerable families as a critical lever to improve outcomes in the context of HIV and AIDS
- Provide benefits to families and children based on need, not on HIV or orphan status
- Reinforce families’ long-term caring capacities to children affected by HIV and AIDS
Implement family-centered services integrating health, education and social support - Strengthen community action in support of children affected by AIDS
- Ensure that community voices inform decision-making on all policies and programs
- Expand HIV prevention to redress social and economic inequalities that increase girls’ and women’s vulnerabilities
- Strengthen the evidence base on polices that work for children
Our Work Products
JLICA's comprehensive program of research has resulted in the publication of a series of papers in major journals. JLICA produced over 40 systematic reviews and other reserach products, including Learning Group synthesis papers and its final report, "Home Truths: Facing the Facts on Children, AIDS, and Poverty."
JLICA-commissioned papers address diverse topics such as:
- Changes in family demographics in regions heavily burdened by HIV.
- Harnessing the untapped potential of faith-based organizations in meeting children's needs in Africa.
- Integrated service delivery models that benefit children affected by HIV/AIDS.
- The craft of successful policymaking and policy implementation for children.
