Gains made over the past 20 years in child survival have been eroded or eliminated in most Sub-Saharan countries due to HIV and AIDS. …The Task Force provides technical assistance to strengthen families and improve the lives of children in areas heavily affected by HIV/AIDS. |
THE PROBLEM As the HIV pandemic continues to expand, the impact on children cannot be overstated. Thousands of children become infected through perinatal or blood-borne transmission each year. Even more children lose one or both parents to HIV and AIDS illness or death. Household incomes decline as parents become sick, forcing children to drop out of school to work or provide care for ill family members. As orphaned children are added to extended families, food and other basic needs are stretched thin, affecting children who are not orphaned as well. Young children, especially those under 5 years of age, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of inadequate care during these early years. Poor health, malnutrition, and little stimulation resulting from inadequate care can all affect the child’s ability to think, learn, and function effectively. These effects are likely to have long-term consequences that are irreversible. CHILD NEEDS ASSESSMENT TOOL KIT A report developed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) outlines 5 basic strategies for interventions to meet the needs of young families and their children. Programs that address the issues and needs outlined in this report will be more effective if they are based on sound data about the population targeted for services. However, many programs lack the capacity to design, collect, and analyze data. To address this issue, The Task Force for Child Survival and Development was commissioned by the Early Child Development Team of The World Bank to develop an assessment tool for use by World Bank Task Managers, NGO service organizations and others in designing programs to assist in meeting some of these needs. Data gathered from this assessment package can help service organizations, NGOs, and others to focus their programs on areas of greatest need in their community. Scientific data-driven programs, grant proposals, service delivery, and evaluation efforts are likely to be more effective and have a much greater impact than those based on anecdote or experience alone. DESCRIPTION OF THE TOOL KIT The tool kit was designed to assess the needs of young children in communities heavily affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The assessment provides information about the household, family, the main caregiver of young children, each child under 8 years of age, their basic needs (housing, food, clothes, bedding, daily activities, health, education and childcare), and unmet needs. The information from the assessment is intended to be used to design service programs, targeted to the needs of these young children and their families. The needs assessment is carried out through use of a survey of households in the area served by the organization, sometimes called the “catchment” area. Assuming that a survey of all households in the catchment area is not feasible, simple random sampling or cluster survey methodology is used to obtain a representative sample of households in the area. A survey instrument, definitions, and script for the interviewer are included in the package. The software that accompanies this package includes a program for analysis and generation of reports. INTENDED USER The intended user is a typical non-governmental service organization (NGO), World Bank task manager, or district health office. SKILLS NEEDED Familiarity with conducting a survey, interviewing, cluster sampling and methodology, using a computer, and interpreting survey results. OVERVIEW OF THE SURVEY DOMAINS The survey is designed to collect information on the following major areas (domains) related to the needs of young children: |
 This tool kit was developed by the Task Force at the request of the Early Child Development Team of The World Bank. Please click here to download the Tool Kit which now includes the survey form in French, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, as well as English translations. Please click here to download the CNA Software  We welcome your comments and feedback. Please address comments to the Early Child Development Team at ecd@worldbank.org or Martha Rogers MD at The Task Force for Global Health at mrogers@taskforce.org. CONTACT INFORMATION: Martha F. Rogers, MD The Task Force for Global Health 325 Swanton Way Decatur, Georgia 30030 phone: 404-371-0466 fax: 404-371-9098 email: mrogers@taskforce.org web: http://www.taskforce.org/hiv.asp |
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