The Essential Package: Holistically Addressing the Needs of Young Vulnerable Children and Their Caregivers Affected by HIV and AIDS

The Essential Package (EP) is a comprehensive set of tools and guides for program managers and service providers that enables programs to address the unique needs and competencies of young children, particularly those affected or infected by HIV/AIDS, in an integrated and holistic way. The components of the package have been developed so that they can be easily integrated into existing OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children ) and ECD (Early Childhood Development) programs in different contexts, currently focusing on vulnerable children affected by HIV, or facing other challenges such as chronic poverty, disruption, on conflict. Within the package there are five key interlinking areas in which key actions for both the child and caregiver are provided: health, nutrition, care and development, right and protection, and economic strengthening.

Efforts to develop the Essential Package (EP) were led by the Inter-Agency Task Force on ECD and AIDS (IATF) within the Consultative Group and co-chaired by CARE and Save the Children