UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Evaluation of services for orphans and vulnerable youth in Botswana : final report
This evaluation—conducted by MEASURE Evaluation, a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)—aimed to understand how orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) programming by the Government of Botswana (GOB) and the PEPFAR-funded Botswana Comprehensive Care and Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (BCCOVC) project prepares older youth to be healthy, productive young adults.
Mandal, Mahua; Cannon, Abby +3 more · 2019
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Abstract
It examined the effect of services on the educational, economic, and health outcomes of older youth graduating from the programs . This mixed-methods evaluation was a one-time quasi-experimental study, with the intervention group receiving services from the BCCOVC project and the GOB and a comparison group receiving services from the GOB only. The primary outcomes were as follows: • Youth who sat for and passed the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education exam (i.e., received a score of 36 points or higher) in 2018 • Youth who had basic financial literacy • Youth who had an HIV test in the past 12 months and knew their test results The BCCOVC project had mixed success in improving HIV and health, economic strengthening, and education outcomes. It had some effect on HIV/health and economic strengthening outcomes but none on education outcomes. Qualitative data revealed youth perspectives around accessing HIV testing and treatment, awareness of gender-based violence, the importance of education, and economic challenges and aspirations. HIV-positive respondents reported that teen clubs provided support and improved adherence. Adolescent OVC are an important population to support as they transition to adulthood, and additional research is needed to understand how services reach them.
