From Vulnerability to Resilience: Graduation in OVC Programs

event Sponsored by the OVC Task Force and AVSI-USA

July 12, 2016, 8:30am – 12:30pm
FHI 360 Greely Hall, 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC

Thank you to the more than 65 participants in this event, and a special thanks to the speakers and co-hosts at the OVC Task Force!

At this exciting event, we brought together policy makers, researchers and OVC practitioners to discuss key concepts and principles related to graduation models applied to OVC programs.

Through presentation of two promising projects and reflections from policymakers and researchers, participants had the opportunity to explore this relevant topic, share concerns and experiences, and contribute to the learning agenda around graduation and resilience.

One promising graduation model is the Sustainable Comprehensive Responses (SCORE) Program for vulnerable children and their families. Funded by USAID, this program is currently implemented by AVSI Uganda together with FHI360, CARE, and TPO Uganda, as well as hundreds of local partners. The program uses an integrated graduation model that is reaching over 28,000 households. To date, roughly 7,000 households have proudly graduated, while another 5,800 are in the pre-graduation stage.

read OVC event conclusions

Presentations and other Resources

More resources on the SCORE project can be found here:

score uganda

More resources on the USAID resilience framework and backsliding research:
https://www.microlinks.org/library/backsliding-uganda-ensuring-escapes-poverty-are-sustained-end-extreme-poverty

Other resources about the FXB Village Model can be found at these links:
FXBVillage Toolkit and Planning Guide http://usa.fxb.org/toolkit/
“An assessment of the FXBVillage Program in Uganda and Rwanda” paper: http://usa.fxb.org/hot-from-the-field-valuable-harvard-fxb-monitoring-and-evaluation-report-goes-public/

BACKGROUND
AGENDA
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
SPEAKERS

In PEPFAR-funded OVC programs, and more widely across the sectors of poverty reduction, social protection and economic empowerment, the concept of a program that would purposefully integrate various services and supports to reach the most vulnerable households and provide them with a guided pathway out of extreme poverty has gained traction. Referred to by many as a “graduation” model, such programs offer the promise that households could successfully take measurable strides towards greater well-being and ultimately graduate out of direct project support, hopefully for good. This approach is sensitive to the dynamic nature of poverty and vulnerability and allows for programmatic flexibility to match inputs and asset transfers to meet the unique needs and opportunities of each household.

There are differences in how graduation models are defined and understood, including the variations among them, and the evidence base is emergent and still limited. In particular, how graduation models can effectively respond to and address the multiple and concurrent vulnerabilities of households impacted by HIV is one aspect that has not yet been fully explored.

The OVC Task Force feels that it is an opportune moment to start building consensus on basic definitions and principles related to graduation, take a look closer at graduation models that are promising, and begin to uncover the lessons that can be learned and areas which merit further exploration. One promising graduation model is the Sustainable Comprehensive Responses (SCORE) Program for vulnerable children and their families. This program is currently implemented by AVSI Uganda together with FHI360, CARE, and TPO Uganda, as well as hundreds of local partners. The program uses an integrated graduation model that is reaching over 28,000 households. To date, roughly 7,000 households have proudly graduated, while another 5,800 are in the pre-graduation stage.

Agenda

8:45 - 9:00 Registration and light breakfast
9:00 - 9:15 Opening
9:15 - 9:30 PEPFAR Perspectives on Graduation in OVC Programs: Key concepts, Definitions, Considerations and Guidance. Jason Wolfe, USAID
9:30 - 9:40 Q&A
9:40 - 9:55 USAID’s Resilience Framework and Research on Pathways Out of Poverty. Greg Wilson, Center for Resilience/USAID
9:55 - 10:05 Q&A

Promising Graduation Models.
Moderator: Mike Ferguson, ASPIRE Project/FHI 360

10:05 - 10:35 Model 1: The AVSI SCORE Model, Rita Larok, Chief of Party
10:35 - 10:50 Q&A
10:50 - 11:20 Model 2: The FXB Village Model
-Emmanuel Habyarimana, Executive Director, FXB Rwanda
-Karina Weinstein, Program Director, FXB USA
11:20 - 11:35 Q&A
11:35 - 12:05 Reflection and discussion of the graduation models
12:05 - 12:20 Conclusions and Recommendations. CGAP
12:20 - 12:30 Next Steps and Closing

Goal:

This event aims to contribute to the capacity of OVC program implementers to integrate an effective and sustainable graduation model or approach into their programs.

Specific Objectives:

The specific objectives of the event will be to:

Achieve greater clarity and consensus on central concepts related to graduation.
Promote better understanding of PEPFAR’s programmatic guidance on graduation and performance standards for implementing partners in this area.
Examine promising graduation models for vulnerable households in the context of HIV/ OVC programming and beyond to learn about their processes, methods, tools, and successes, challenges and lessons learned.