Foreword
One of the most tragic and difficult challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is the growing number of children who have lost parents to AIDS or whose lives will never be the same because of it.
The crisis is both enormous and complex, affecting many millions of children. Nothing can take away the pain that these children have already endured. But a conscious shift in our attention and efforts can help alleviate the suffering that many of them still face and provide brighter prospects for their future. Agreement on the key issues and actions to be taken will go a long way to increase the speed, magnitude and the effectiveness of our response.
To this end, a broad range of stakeholders from all sectors of society has collaborated to produce the framework presented here. It is targeted to senior leaders and decision makers around the world who can influence policies, programmes and resources directed to orphans and vulnerable children. Its purpose is to provide a common agenda for mounting an effective response. No government or organization is able to take on all aspects of the framework simultaneously or with equal force. And priorities will best be established within countries and at the local level. However, by affirming this strategy, a broad and diverse group can speak with one voice about the urgency and importance of the challenges, and about the collective efforts required to meet them.
This framework evolved from a process that began in 2000 and is based on the cumulative experience of many actors over many years. It was developed and refined through regional and global consultations with practitioners and policy makers and feedback from key experts. For much of this period, the documents that drove this process were the Children on the Brink series and preliminary versions of Principles to Guide Programming for Orphans and Other Children Affected by HIV/AIDS and Strategic Action for Children and Families Affected by AIDS. The framework presented here reflects an evolution of the strategies and principles first presented in these documents and a broader consensus on a common agenda.
We would like to thank all of the individuals, organizations and government agencies that contributed to the development of this framework. It is indeed a turning point, as global, national and local efforts increase momentum to lessen – and ultimately overcome – the impact of HIV/AIDS on children. We call upon all governments, international, non-governmental, faith-based and civil society organizations concerned with orphans and vulnerable children living in a world with HIV/AIDS to support this framework and to use it to build a collective response that fulfils the needs and rights of all of these children.
Framework 2004 [410k].