[Press Kit]

Zimbabwe: Strengthening
community responses to orphan care

Zimbabwe has one of the worst AIDS
epidemics in the world. Currently,
26 per cent of all adults are infected
with HIV, according to figures from
the National AIDS Coordination
Programme (NACP). The UN
Population Division has projected
that, in the years 2000-2005, half
of all child deaths in the country
will be due to AIDS.
As in Zambia, by the end of 1997,
there were some 360,000 children
orphaned by AIDS - 7 per cent of
all children under 15 - and the
likelihood is that many more children
will share this fate.
Early recognition of the problem
The orphan crisis in Zimbabwe first
drew national attention in July 1992,
when the Government of Zimbabwe's
Department of Social Welfare coordinated a national conference on
orphans, with support from UNICEF.
At that time, it was recognized that a
small number of NGOs and CBOs
had already begun to strengthen their
own responses to the increasing number of orphans. It also became clear
that compared to institutionalization,
community-based care was costeffective and, because it kept children
in a familiar social, cultural and ethnic
environment, reduced their distress.
In 1995, the Government of
Zimbabwe developed a National
Policy on the Care and Protection of
Orphans, which was finally approved
by the Cabinet in May 1999. The

Policy reaffirmed the position that
orphans should be placed in institutions only as a last resort.
By the mid- 1990s, the Department
of Social Welfare had begun piloting
three models of Community-based
Orphan Care: a rural, urban and commercial farm model. Today, 30 communities are at various stages of
implementing one of the three models.
The Chief Charumbira Communitybased Orphan Care Programme in
Masvingo Province
The rural model of Communitybased Orphan Care was launched in
Masvingo District in Masvingo
Province in 1994. This district of
165,879 people is divided into three
areas and 94 villages and governed by
traditional leaders: Chief Charumbira,
sub-chiefs and village leaders. The
Orphan Care Programme was
structured to utilize the traditional
roles and responsibilities of these
leaders, who have the authority to
mobilize their people and resources
in times of crisis and emergency.
Chief Area Committees, composed
of the area sub-chief, advisors and village leaders, were established in each
of the three areas. These Committees
address policy and planning issues
and also unify and guide village activities. Local activities are carried out
by Village Committees, made up of
village leaders and five members of the
community. Most of their work is
done through community volunteers.